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Virginia Knocks Off ODU in Second Straight Five-Set Thriller

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Despite Old Dominion (4-3) having match point three times in the fifth set, Virginia (4-1) was able to rally and pull off its second consecutive five-set comeback win (16-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-16, 18-16) Tuesday evening (Sept. 5) inside Memorial Gymnasium.

Offensively, the Hoos were led by Abby Tadder (15 kills, .414 hitting percentage) and Lauryn Bowie (18 kills, 54 attempts). Defensive specialist Kate Johnson turned in a career-best 20 digs. Setter Ashley Le finished with 43 assists, 13 digs and a career-high five aces.

SET 1: Old Dominion 25, Virginia 16
ODU won the first handedly after leading by as many as 10 points (16-6) midway through the first. The Cavaliers won five of the last seven points, but ultimately dug too deep of a hole to overcome. Tadder finished the first set with three kills and an error on five attempts (.400).

SET 2: Virginia 25, Old Dominion 21
The Cavaliers went on a 6-0 run early in set No. 2 to take their first lead of the night (8-4). The Monarchs would tie the set at the 17 point mark but could never secure a lead  as the Hoos would go 8-4 down the final stretch. Outside hitter Ciera Hecht made all 10 of her passes successfully.

SET 3: Old Dominion 25, Virginia 21
Virginia jumped out of the gate with a quick 9-4 run over ODU, but saw the lead slip away as the Monarchs exploded on an 11-2 run. Le would stop the ODU run with a huge block to knot the game, 18-18, prompting a Monarchs’ timeout. Old Dominion would ultimately claim a third set victory after scoring four of the last six points.

SET 4: Virginia 25, Old Dominion 16
The Hoos cruised to a fourth set victory to force a fifth period, leading by as many as 10 points. Virginia made 17 kills on a .385 hitting clip with outside hitter Brooklyn Borum and Bowie chipping in five kills apiece

SET 5: Virginia 18, Old Dominion 16
The decisive set opened up with three straight aces from Le before the two sides would trade blows throughout the fifth. UVA found themselves down match point three separate times but Tadder and Veresia Yon each threw down massive kills to keep Virginia’s chances alive. Borum would make great serves on the final two plays which saw Virginia claim victory off a Bowie kill and ODU setting error. 

GAME NOTES

  • With the win, Virginia improved to 2-0 in the all-time series against Old Dominion.
  • With the win, Virginia improved to 2-1 in five-set matches this year.
  • Johnson notched a career high in digs with 20, including nine in the third set.
  • Bowie finished with match highs in both kills (18) and points (18.0).
  • Le finished with a double-double of 45 assists and 13 digs, and tallied a career-high five aces.

UP NEXT
The Cavaliers hit the road to take part in the DMV Invitational. The Hoos travel to Howard (3-3) on Friday (Sept. 8) at 6 p.m. before heading to Baltimore, Md. to take on Coastal Carolina (2-1) at noon on Saturday (Sept. 9) and UMBC (3-2) at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Sept. 10). The match against Howard can be streamed here while fans can catch UVA face Coastal Carolina and UMBC for free online through America East TV.

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