Virginia was unable to find any traction against NC State or North Carolina this past weekend as the Cavaliers were outplayed at every turn and could not sustain any meaningful stretches of play.
The Cavaliers (4-15, 0-8 ACC) began their weekend against the NC State Wolfpack (13-6, 9-0 ACC) — a team that has yet to lose against an ACC opponent. Virginia learned firsthand why the Wolfpack have been able to uphold their longstanding record of success, as they demonstrated their ability to hold out against the Cavaliers throughout the match.
Virginia’s first set against the Wolfpack had a promising start. A contentious set with three separate lead changes, the Cavaliers and Wolfpack exchanged short runs and points through much of the set. However, a late 7-2 run by the Wolfpack put away the set for Virginia.
In the second set, again both teams exchanged sort runs, and in a similar story to the first set, the Wolfpack was able to pull away from Virginia with a big late run. A 5-1 Cavalier run at the end of the set held off three set points, but it was not enough for Virginia to come up with a win as the team dropped the second set 25-19.
Hoping to prevent a shutout, the Cavaliers came out determined to win in the third set, and all signs pointed that Virginia may be able to turn the game around and come out with a win. As the Cavalier offense became stagnant at the halfway point in the set, it became clear that the Cavaliers could not outmaneuver the Wolfpack defense and lost the set 25-17.
The next day, Virginia would face off against the North Carolina Tar Heels (9-7, 6-2 ACC) in another match that would ultimately end in a sweep against the Cavaliers. In the first set, three devastating runs by UNC and a shutout of the Cavalier offense left Virginia at the mercy of the Tar Heels as they quickly took the first set 25-12.
The Tar Heels followed up that win with another, as they were able to hold back a Virginia comeback with yet another key 6-1 run and put a win by the Cavaliers out of reach thanks to their stifling defense. North Carolina outblocked Virginia 3-10.
The Cavaliers began the third set with an abysmal 11-3 start. While a few big runs by Virginia helped lessen the gap between the two teams, a 6-0 run by North Carolina destroyed any chance that the Cavaliers had of salvaging the game.
Virginia will look to recover from these two losses as they face Duke and Wake Forest in Memorial Gymnasium Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m., respectively.
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