The Virginia volleyball team extended its winning streak to four matches after beating ACC foes Clemson and Louisville on the road this past weekend.
The Cavaliers (15-9, 8-3 ACC) won 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 26-24) in their first weekend match against Clemson Friday night.
The teams were evenly matched throughout, but the Cavaliers relied on a .319 overall hitting percentage — versus Clemson’s .265 — to come out on top.
The Tigers (16-9, 4-7 ACC) led 14-9 in the first set before the Cavaliers went on a 5-0 run to tie the score. The set went back and forth until the Cavaliers took the lead for good at 19-18.
In the second set, the Cavaliers won seven of the first nine points to take an early lead they did not relinquish.
Despite also winning six of nine points to start the third set, Clemson would tie the game up at 15-15 and win 10 of the next 15 points to bite into Virginia’s two-set lead.
In the fourth set, Clemson looked poised to take the match into the fifth. But the Cavaliers staved off three set points and claimed five straight points, aided by two Clemson attack errors, to take the set and match.
Senior outside hitter Tori Janowski put up a double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs to aid Virginia. Sophomore outside hitters Haley Kole and Jasmine Burton also added double-digit kills.
Senior outside hitter Kristin Faust led Clemson with 20 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Leah Perri added 18 kills for the Tigers.
Sunday’s match against Louisville was also competitive, but the Cavaliers pulled through in five sets (27-25, 13-25, 25-15, 21-25, 15-12) with a .318 hitting percentage in the deciding fifth set — versus Louisville’s .190 — to sweep the season series with the Cardinals (14-9, 6-5 ACC).
The first set saw 15 ties and eight lead changes before the Cavaliers fought off two set points with two straight kills. After two Cardinal errors, Virginia took the set on another kill.
The team with the better hitting percentage would win the next two sets, but in the fourth set, Louisville used an 11-3 run to overtake an early Virginia lead and force the deciding fifth set despite posting a lower hitting percentage than the Cavaliers.
Janowski recorded another double-double, and Burton and Kole added 17 and 15 kills, respectively.
Louisville sophomore outside hitter Janelle Jenkins had a double-double herself, while teammates sophomore outside hitter Maya McClendon and freshman middle blocker Maggie DeJong added 17 and 16 kills, respectively. Senior outside hitter Tara Gowan assisted on five of the Cardinals’ blocks.
The Cavaliers look to continue their road-game success when they return to the court Friday to face ACC standings leader Florida State.
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