The University of Virginia volleyball team began ACC play this weekend with a win over N.C. State and a loss to North Carolina.
The Cavaliers traveled to Raleigh Friday and claimed a 3-0 (30-23, 30-18, 30-22) victory over the Wolfpack, Virginia's 20th consecutive win over N.C. State. Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Kirkwood led the match with 15 kills. Adding to her outstanding performance, she notched five digs and three blocks. As the team suffers from injuries to many of the starting line, junior outside hitter Emily Perilli played a substantial role in place of injured freshman Shannon Davis.
"I've been a middle since 8th grade, but not many colleges looked at me for that position because I'm only 5'9"," Perilli said. "Most college middles are tall. So I've played the position before, just not at the college level."
Perilli managed a .353 hitting percentage and played a well-rounded game, scoring nine kills, three blocks, eight digs, two assists and an ace.
"Our injury situation is not good," Virginia coach Melissa Shelton said. "We have three starters out after this weekend, and [senior outside hitter] Kristin Chaney will be out for the season. I was overjoyed with Emily's play filling in at middle. She stepped up and more than filled her own."
Junior outside hitter Lindsay Osco also had a superlative effort, hitting .350, tabulating nine kills, six digs and an ace. Sophomore libero Melissa Caldwell managed a match-best 16 digs, leading the Cavaliers' defensive effort.
The Cavaliers dropped their match Saturday against North Carolina 3-0 (30-25, 30-23, 30-24) in their second ACC road game of the weekend.
Kirkwood recorded a double-double in the loss with 38 assists and 10 digs, while her younger sister, sophomore Sarah Kirkwood, accumulated a match-leading 15 kills and six digs.
Leading the Tar Heels, Dani Nyenhuis (12 kills, 18 digs) and Camilla Ihenetu (14 kills, 11 digs) both recorded double-doubles in the match. In hitting percentage, North Carolina led Virginia, .245 to .149. The Tar Heels also managed eight aces to the Cavaliers' two.
"UNC's defense was definitely a lot tougher" than N.C. State's, Shelton said. "We knew we wouldn't be able to post the stats against UNC that we had against N.C. State. We were looking for our starters to really step up against UNC, and they weren't quite able to do that."
With the loss, the Cavaliers are now 6-5 overall, and 1-1 in the ACC. The team is currently gearing up for its next game Friday against Boston College at Memorial Gymnasium. With Virginia ranked No. 6 in the ACC, Shelton expressed the opportunity the Cavaliers still have to move up in the standings.
"If you look at the results across the board, the conference is still wide open," Shelton said. "After most of the teams have played two [ACC] games, you can't really tell who will be strong. It's still open to any team."
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