Cavaliers Sweep Miami at John Paul Jones Arena

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –  The Virginia Volleyball team (13-2, 3-1 ACC) downed the Miami Hurricanes (11-4, 1-3) in three sets Sunday afternoon in front of 2,892 fans at John Paul Jones Arena.  

“I am just proud of this team,” said UVA head coach Shannon Wells. “We had over 45 alumni here this weekend with some big-time recruits in the house, so to be able to showcase where this program is and where it is going in the future was very exciting. I am very humbled and excited. We’re going to enjoy this for a couple days and then get back to work this week.”  

With the win, the Cavaliers improved to 13-2 on the year and 3-1 in ACC play. The 3-1 start in league play is the program’s best since 2015. 

Elayna Duprey paced Virginia on offense with a match-high 12 kills and one ace. Kate Dean led the way defensively with a season-high six blocks while Milan Gomillion and Brooklyn Borum each had 12 digs.  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Set 1: Virginia 25, Miami 21
Miami led by as many as four [10-6] early on, but the Hoos scored four unanswered to tie and shift momentum in its favor. Another 3-0 run later on gave UVA a 20-17 lead. A crucial Miami point – which would have made the score 22-21 in favor of UVA – was reversed after Wells successfully challenged that Miami was in the net. The first saw eight tied scores, but only two lead changes. Borum had four kills and hit .375. Setter Zoey Dood had three kills on six swings and defensive specialist Kate Johnson tied for a set-high six digs with Gomillion. UVA sided out on 72 percent of Hurricane serves and did not allow them to score more than two points consecutively. 

Set 2: Virginia 25, Miami 22
The Cavaliers posted a whopping 18 kills in the second in contrast to Miami’s 12. Duprey put down five of her 13 attempts and Abby Tadder and Lauryn Bowie added four each. The Cavaliers led 8-7 when Miami scored four unanswered to take the lead. UVA stayed within striking distance before taking the lead [21-18] for good on a 7-1 run.  The Hurricanes pulled within one [23-22], but Tadder’s fourth kill of the frame gave Virginia set point. After Miami signaled for time, the Hurricanes suffered an attack error to end the set to give the Hoos a 2-0 lead heading into the intermission. 

Set 3: Virginia 25, Miami 16
After trading the opening six points of the set, the Cavaliers took over for good when Tadder and Borum teamed for a block that made it 4-3. The block kickstarted a run that helped balloon the Virginia advantage to eight at 18-10. To close out the match, Virginia scored six of the final nine points with a Duprey kill at match point to put an exclamation point on the JPJ victory and the squad’s second sweep of the weekend.  

WITH THE WIN… 

• UVA is off to its first 3-1 start in ACC play since 2015. 

• Virginia improved to 2-0 in matches held at John Paul Jones Arena. 

• Virginia is 13-2 (or better) for the first time since 2003, when it won its first 16 matches of the season. 

• The Cavaliers are 10-1 in their last 11 matches. 

• UVA snapped a 12-match losing skid against Miami and improved to 10-20 in the all-time series, which began in 2004.  

• Virginia swept Miami for the first time since Oct. 13, 2006.  

• The Cavaliers earned their second consecutive victory over an ACC opponent for the first time since 2019, when they took down Boston College and Virginia Tech in straight sets. 

• The Hoos tallied their fifth sweep of the year, the most in a single season since totaling five in 2021. 

• UVA defeated both Miami and Florida State in the same season for the first time since 2010. 

ADDITIONAL NOTES 

• Kate Dean tied her season high of six blocks. 

• Elayna Duprey finished with a match-high 12 kills on 28 swings. 

• UVA’s 45 kills against the Hurricanes are its most in a sweep over an ACC opponent since recording 46 at home against Virginia Tech in 2022. 

• Sunday’s attendance of 2,892 fans is the second largest crowd in program history only behind 2023’s JPJ takeover of which saw 3,162 fans in attendance.   

UP NEXT
The Cavaliers travel south to face Clemson (8-7, 0-4) on Friday (Oct. 11) at 7 p.m., and No. 19 Georgia Tech (9-4, 1-3) on Sunday (Oct. 13) at 1 p.m. Both matches are set to stream on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).