The Virginia volleyball team kicked off its ACC schedule with a bang by sweeping a tough Virginia Tech team 3-0 Friday in front of a season-high crowd at Memorial Gymnasium.
The first game was evenly matched, with the two teams tied on 14 different occasions with nine lead changes. Trailing Virginia Tech 18-16, Virginia called a timeout, which proved to be enough to break the Hokies' momentum and allow the Cavaliers to regain the lead.
Virginia seemed to be in control as it reached a 27-21 lead, but Virginia Tech made a strong push. The Cavaliers proved victorious, however, 30-28.
The Hokies came out strong in the second game, leading Virginia 7-3 early on. The Cavaliers rallied to regain the lead at 9-8 and eventually began to pull away, taking a 22-17 lead.
After a Virginia Tech timeout, the Hokies went on a 7-3 run bringing the game within one point at 25-24.Virginia called a timeout, but was unable to stop Tech's momentum.
On game point, however, with the Cavaliers down 29-26, senior outside hitter Sarah Kirkwood dropped a soft shot over the net that landed just behind the opposing block, and Virginia regained the serve.
Virginia went on to tie the game at 29-29 before taking the win 32-30. The season-high crowd of 826 people was on its feet cheering for the comeback victory.
"Volleyball is such a momentum sport," senior libero Melissa Caldwell said."It keeps our energy up ... when things are starting to go wrong, to just look and see [the crowd] cheering really makes you want to play harder."
And the Cavaliers did just that, taking immediate control of the third game. Though the score remained close from the beginning of the game, Virginia finished strong and ended the match with a decisive 30-25 victory.
The clear turning point in the match was the Hokies' lost game point in the second game. After that, the momentum was in favor of the Cavaliers.
"Anytime any team loses a game like [Game 2], it takes the wind out of your sails," Virginia coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said."It takes extraordinary mental effort to come back and win after that."
Virginia achieved its victory through a strong game both offensively and defensively. At the net, the Cavaliers tallied 42 kills against a Virginia Tech team that leads the ACC in blocking.Kirkwood led the team with 12 kills and sophomore outside hitter Lauren Dickson finished the match with 11.
The offense was assisted by strong defense, including eight team blocks and 60 digs. Caldwell led the team with 18 digs as well as four of the team's nine service aces.
"I thought we played really well," Shelton said."We had a few letdowns and they had a couple runs, but Tech is a good team.Beating them is a good way to start off the ACC season."
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