The Virginia volleyball team opened its season with a strong showing in the Cavalier Classic over the weekend. The Cavaliers (2-1, 0-0 ACC) beat Furman and Loyola before falling to Coastal Carolina.
Furman
Virginia began the round robin tournament with a 25-13, 25-13, 22-25, 25-21 victory over Furman (0-3, 0-0 Southern Conference) Friday night at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Paladins hung around early in the first set, but the Cavaliers closed on a 12-4 run to comfortably win the opening frame. Virginia’s defense was stellar, limiting Furman to a -0.038 hitting percentage in the first set.
Virginia won the second set by an identical margin, but this time the Cavaliers got off to an early 9-1 lead and never looked back.
Furman found its footing in the third set and managed to take an 18-12 lead late in the set. Virginia fought back and cut the deficit to 23-22 at one point, but Furman scored the final two points to win the set and stay alive in the match.
It was a tightly-contested fourth set, as the Paladins rallied from an early deficit to tie things up at 19. The Cavaliers responded, however, by winning six of the next eight points to seal the match.
Sophomore outside hitter Grace Turner led Virginia with 21 kills, and junior outside hitter Sarah Billiard recorded 14 kills. Turner and senior setter Jennifer Wineholt each finished with double-doubles.
The Cavaliers finished with a .270 hitting percentage overall while limiting the Paladins to a .094 hitting percentage.
Loyola
Virginia won its second game of the tournament over Loyola with scores of 25-17, 25-15, 25-20 Saturday morning.
Virginia jumped out to a 9-3 lead early in the first set and never allowed the Greyhounds (1-2, 0-0 Patriot League) to get any closer than five points for the remainder of the set. Virginia held Loyola to a -0.027 hitting percentage in the first set.
Loyola held an 8-5 lead in the second set, but Virginia rattled off 10 consecutive points to take the lead and pull away.
The Cavaliers completed the sweep with a solid performance in the third set, moving to 2-0 in the tournament.
Senior right side Jelena Novakovic and sophomore middle blocker Milla Ciprian led the Cavaliers with eight kills apiece. Senior libero Kelsey Miller led the team with 19 digs.
Virginia finished the match with a hitting percentage of .300, while limiting Loyola to a hitting percentage of .069.
Coastal Carolina
Virginia fell in the final game of the tournament to Coastal Carolina by a score of 25-18, 25-22, 25-16 Saturday evening.
The first set was very tight, as the two teams traded points throughout. With the set tied at 17-17, the Chanticleers (3-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) went on a 6-0 run and won eight of the next nine points to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Chanticleers took control early in the second by taking a 9-3 lead. The Cavaliers fought back and cut the deficit to within three at 23-20, but they were unable to complete the rally.
In the third set, Coastal Carolina jumped out to an 11-3 lead and held off a late comeback attempt from Virginia to take the match.
Coastal Carolina recorded a .333 hitting percentage in the match, while limiting Virginia to a .133 hitting percentage.
Miller and Turner represented the Cavaliers on the All-Tournament team, with Brigitta Petrenko of Coastal Carolina taking home MVP honors.
Virginia returns to action next weekend when it competes in the Rutgers Invitational in New Brunswick, N.J. Virginia will face Princeton and Towson Friday, before concluding with a matchup against the Rutgers Saturday afternoon.
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