Virginia volleyball traveled to Columbus, Ohio, Friday to face off against Ohio State for the second time in program history. The Cavaliers (6-3, 0-0 ACC) defeated the Buckeyes (2-5, 0-0 Big Ten) in a five-set match that started off slowly but quickly picked up. Virginia walked away from the match with its first program win over Ohio State, after losing in 2021. The Cavaliers lost in three sets in 2021, but Friday they switched the narrative tonight through five sets, winning the match 15-25, 25-20, 25-7, 23-25, 15-12.
Virginia’s offense was well-balanced, with five players contributing eight or more kills. Two players excelled in particular. Sophomore right side hitter Becca Wight led the Cavaliers with 13 kills on the night, just two shy of her career high. Senior middle blocker Jasmine Robinson notched a .529 hitting percentage after 10 kills, a career high for the Virginia Tech transfer. Virginia’s offense is coming together at a perfect time — just two matches before ACC play begins.
“Me and my setters were trying to get our connection down,” Robinson said after being named the player of the game. “It just worked really well when we stopped being so frustrated and started trusting each other more.”
The Cavaliers found their connection and rhythm in the second set, after a first set of defensive and attacking errors ended with four straight Buckeye points. The success in the second set was jumpstarted by a handful of errors on the Buckeyes’ part, ones that allowed Virginia to settle in and take off. Robinson got the Cavaliers started with two straight kills, followed by the same from Wight. Virginia took a six-point lead, fending off multiple runs from Ohio State to chip away at the lead. Contributions from across the board allowed Virginia to close out the set with two key kills from Wight and senior middle blocker Kate Dean.
Entering the third set, Virginia was on even ground with the Buckeyes. But as the set progressed, the Cavaliers seemed miles ahead of Ohio State. Virginia allowed just seven points all set, only two of which came consecutively. On top of continued offensive dominance from the seven different Cavaliers who scored points in the set, Virginia allowed just four kills.
Virginia picked up where it left off in the opening of the fourth set, extending its scoring run to 17 unanswered points beginning at the end of the previous set. The Buckeyes, however, refocused midway through and took their first lead since the first set. Virginia’s defense appeared unable to stop certain quick hitters and serves as Ohio State once again brought the match to a draw, pushing to a fifth and final set.
The fifth set followed a similar route, but with Virginia emerging victorious. Both teams kept each other within reach. However, the Cavaliers were led offensively by a handful of players — junior outside hitter Lauryn Bowie, senior outside hitter Vivian Miller, senior middle blocker Kate Dean, freshman outside hitter Reagan Ennist and Wight. These efforts were enough for the Cavaliers to stay ahead of the Buckeyes despite a tight set. Wight, an Ohio native, notched the final point of the set with a kill, locking in the victory.
The Cavaliers are comfortable with working under pressure. They showed this last season after taking down ranked opponents, or those who were expected to defeat them. They have shown this recently, after defeating Michigan in five sets following a difficult streak of losses to out-of-conference opponents. Friday, they did the same by holding off the Buckeyes and winning their second five-set match of the season. Virginia will need similar performances if it is to compete in the ACC.
“We are someone to not underestimate,” Robinson said about entering ACC play. “We have that fight and we have that drive… We always fight for what we believe in. I definitely don’t want people to think that we’re just going to come and they’re gonna sweep us, because it’s not gonna happen.”
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