Dean Lifts Cavaliers Past Troy

COLUMBUS, Ohio – To close out non-conference play, the Virginia volleyball team (7-3) swept (25-23, 25-21, 27-25) the Troy Trojans (2-5) on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 20) at the Covelli Center as part of the Sports Import Classic. 

Kate Dean led Virginia on both sides of the ball with a team-best nine kills and a career-high 11 blocks. Dean’s 11 blocks are the most by anybody in a UVA uniform since Abby Tadder recorded 12 against Towson in 2023.

To assist in the offensive attack, Jasmine Robinson tallied seven kills while Reagan Ennist added six more of her own. Defensively, Teagan Hogan paced all Cavaliers with 10 digs.  

 HOW IT HAPPENED 

Set 1: Virginia 25, Troy 23

To open Saturday’s match, the two squads played to 10 ties and four different lead changes in the first set. Neither team held an advantage larger than three until Virginia closed out the set by collecting five of the last six points.  

Set 2: Virginia 25, Troy 21

In the second set, Virginia capitalized on a handful of Troy errors to sprint out to an early 6-0 advantage. The Cavaliers extended their lead to 14-7 with back-to-back service aces from Ennist. Troy battled back and pulled within a point at 22-21 with a 5-0 run before UVA answered with three consecutive points to claim the game.  

Set 3: Virginia 27, Troy 25

Troy opened the third and final set of the game with a pair of points before Virginia strung together a 7-0 run that was spearheaded by a quartet of block assists from Dean. Following Troy notching the set at 16-16, UVA jumped back out in front with three-straight points to take a 19-16 lead, forcing a Trojan timeout. In the later stages, Troy battled back to pull ahead at 25-24 before the Cavaliers collected the final three points to secure the sweep.

WITH THE WIN

• Virginia improves to 2-0 all-time against Troy.
• UVA claimed its third sweep of the season.
• The Cavaliers move to 39-13 in non-conference matches in the Shannon Wells era.

MATCH NOTES

• Virginia held Troy to a .099 hitting percentage, the lowest of the season.
• The Cavaliers doubled up the Trojans from the service line, 6-3.
• The 12 blocks in Saturday’s sweep are tied for the most by UVA this season.

UP NEXT

Virginia will return home to host Stanford and Cal for the opening weekend of ACC play. Both matches will be played at John Paul Jones Arena and tickets can be purchased at UVATix.com.