Virginia Goes 3-0 at Quest for the Crown Tournament
NORFOLK, Va. – The Virginia volleyball team (3-0) closed its opening weekend with two victories on Saturday (Aug. 31) at Old Dominion’s Quest for the Crown tournament at the ODU Volleyball Center.
Virginia defeated William & Mary 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-14) in an afternoon match before topping host school Old Dominion 3-0 (26-24, 26-24, 25-19) that evening.
Seniors Elayna Duprey and Milan Gomillion were named co-MVPs of the tournament. Abby Tadder was named to the All-Tournament team.
Against ODU, Duprey tallied a career-high 20 kills, which ranks fifth all-time in a three-set match by a Cavalier. Duprey is also the first UVA player to notch 20 kills in a three-set contest since 2013.
In the matchup with William and Mary, freshman setter Zoey Dood hit .800 for the match, with eight kills on ten attacks, 13 assists, five digs, two aces and three blocks. Freshman right-side hitter Becca Wight led the team with 11 kills and added two blocks.
Against the Tribe, the Cavaliers never trailed in the first two sets, jumping out to a 2-0 lead. William and Mary took an early 4-2 lead in the third set before UVA mounted a 9-0 run to take control and hold on for a 25-14 victory.
Virginia’s defense held the Tribe to a .033 hitting percentage for the match after they totaled 22 kills and 19 attack errors, eight of which came off the hands of UVA blockers.
The match against Old Dominion was much closer, with the Cavaliers edging ODU 26-24 in each of the first two sets. In the third set, the Monarchs jumped out to an early 6-1 lead, but the Cavaliers tied up the match at 9-9 and went on to win it 25-19.
Virginia had 49 kills and eight blocks against ODU.
HOW IT HAPPENED – WILLIAM & MARY
Set 1: Virginia 25, William & Mary 15
With the score at 3-2, Virginia opened up a 9-1 run to take control of the first set. The Cavaliers started the match hitting .778, with seven kills on their first nine attacks. They finished the frame with 14 kills, hitting .407, landing five of their eight aces in the match in the first set. Abby Tadder went 4-for-4 on kills while also contributing one of the aces.
Set 2: Virginia 25, William & Mary 20
The set was close early, with UVA pulling out to leads four times only to have the Tribe tie it back up despite hitting just .095. At 10-10, a block by Kate Dean and Duprey put UVA back in the lead. Duprey followed with an ace to swing the momentum and make it 12-10. The Cavaliers pulled ahead 17-13, but the Tribe pulled back within two at 18-16 before a kill by Dood ended the threat. Brooklyn Borum closed out the set with a kill.
Set 3: Virginia 25, William & Mary 14
Old Dominion led 4-2 before kills by Tadder, and Brooklyn Borum tied it at 4-4. An ace by Kate Johnson put the Cavaliers in the lead. The squad added six more points to make it a 9-0 run and a 12-4 advantage. An ace by Dood built the lead up to 21-8. The Cavaliers closed the match on a 3-0 run.
HOW IT HAPPENED – OLD DOMINION
Set 1: Virginia 26, Old Dominion 24
The match was tied up at 13-13 before back-to-back kills from Duprey put the Cavaliers up 15-13. Duprey landed her sixth kill of the set to make it 15-13. ODU hit a pair of aces to narrow the gap to 20-19. Duprey logged her eighth kill of the set to give the Cavaliers set point, 24-22, but ODU won two straight points to tie it 24-24. Duprey closed it out with back-to-back kills, her ninth and 10th of the set.
Set 2: Virginia 26, Old Dominion 24
The Monarchs built an early 5-3 lead, but the Cavaliers rallied to go up 7-5. A kill by Becca Wight made it a 9-6 advantage. UVA built a four-point lead, 18-14, but the Monarchs came back to tie it 19-19. A kill by Tadder put Virginia back in the lead. Once again, Virginia had set point at 24-22, but ODU tied it 24-24. Duprey’s 15th kill of the match put UVA up 25-24 before a block by Dean and Duprey ended the set.
Set 3: Virginia 25, Marist 13
Old Dominion led 6-1 to start the third set, but the Cavaliers clawed back, tying it 9-9 on a kill by Tadder. Another Tadder kill gave the Cavaliers the lead, and they never trailed again, holding on for a 25-19 victory.
NOTES
- This is the first time since 2014 the team has started a season 3-0. UVA went 6-0 to open that season
- Elayna Duprey’s 20 kills is a career-high. Her previous best was 19 against East Carolina last season when she was playing for Virginia Tech
- For the tournament, Duprey averaged 4.25 kills per set and hit .319
- Milan Gomillion had 41 total digs (4.56 digs per set)
- Abby Tadder averaged 3.25 kills per set and had 12 total blocks
- This was the Cavaliers’ sixth straight win against William & Mary
Quest For The Crown All-Tournament Team
Elayna Duprey (Co-MVP), Virginia
Milan Gomillion (Co-MVP), Virginia,
Abby Tadder, Virginia
Ashlynn Belcher, Old Dominion
Myah Conway, Old Dominion
Olivia Esposito, William & Mary
Sabrina Malcolm, William & Mary
Aliah Giroux, UTSA
Jamison White, Marist
ON THE HORIZON
The Cavaliers host the Cavalier Classic tournament next Friday and Saturday, Sept. 6-7, with Coastal Carolina and Hofstra at Memorial Gymnasium, Virginia’s first home matches of the 2024 season. The tournament schedule and links to live stats and the ACCNX streams are posted on VirginiaSports.com.