Virginia volleyball hosted Michigan Friday and Saturday for two matches at the Aquatic & Fitness Center, the main home for the Cavaliers (5-3, 0-0 ACC) this season. Despite the location switch, fans showed up with energy to Friday’s match, contributing to an intense atmosphere that propelled Virginia to a tight 3-2 win over the Wolverines (7-1, 0-0 Big Ten), 19-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21, 15-11, its first ever in the program matchup, before a loss the following day.
Throughout her tenure, Coach Shannon Wells has harped on fan engagement. With many fans on their feet during exciting points, young volleyball players showing excitement on receiving mini volleyballs from the players and energetic music playing all night, Virginia walked away from Friday night crediting a small portion of its win to the energy the fans fostered.
“To me, home is people,” Wells said Friday. “Our people are showing up, and as long as we continue to have these crowds who are supporting us and have our backs, it's going to feel like home.”
After their long but exciting win, the Cavaliers turned their focus to Saturday’s match against the same opponent but in a much different environment. Attendance was sparse, perhaps due to the match overlapping with a home football game. Compared to the 568 fans who packed the facility Friday, only 261 fans were in attendance Saturday. Michigan swept Virginia, 25-20, 25-19, 26-24.
Despite leaving the series against the Wolverines with a bitter taste in their mouths, the Cavaliers saw immense improvement Friday on both sides of the ball. Three players contributed double-digit kills, with junior outside hitter Lauryn Bowie’s 18 standing as a season-high for the entire team. Sophomore right-side hitter Becca Wight and senior outside hitter Vivian Miller notched 14 and 13 kills, respectively.
Despite an all-out offensive performance Friday, Wells also highlighted Virginia’s defense, led by junior defensive specialist Teagan Hogan and sophomore setter Zoey Dood. They tallied 11 and 10 digs, respectively.
The Cavaliers found their rhythm in the second set, adjusting to a quick-hitting Michigan team. Virginia reeled the Wolverines in, pressuring them and forcing errors. Bowie continued to dominate offensively, winning the final point of the set with a kill.
In a similar fashion to the opening two sets, Virginia managed to stymie some of Michigan’s momentum in the third set but ultimately lost its rhythm after the Wolverines erased the Cavaliers’ 8-1 run to claim the set 23-25. But once again, the Cavaliers refocused in the following set, taking a lead early and fending off Michigan’s attempts to crawl back. Senior outside hitter Vivian Miller took off to extend the match to a tiebreaking fifth set.
To close it out, Bowie and Wight continued to trouble the Wolverines’ defense. Freshman outside hitter Reagan Ennist also emerged on the scene and contributed three key kills to the final set, allowing Virginia to take the win once and for all.
Saturday, however, the Cavaliers looked like a different team. Miller led the team with eight kills, a much smaller number than Bowie’s 18 Friday. Virginia was unable to adjust to Michigan’s strong hitters, struggling to stanch long scoring runs.
Michigan had two strong runs in the first set, squashing the Cavaliers. Ultimately, two kills from Wolverine sophomore middle blocker Serena Nyambio and a pair of errors on Virginia’s part ended the first set.
Similar to Friday night, the Cavaliers entered the second set readjusted and kept the Wolverines close. The set saw seven ties, but Virginia could not hold on for long enough — Michigan closed the set out on two three-point scoring runs sandwiched by just one point by the Cavaliers, which was gained off of a Wolverine error.
The final set of the weekend followed in similar heartbreaking fashion, with Virginia finding itself in multiple positions to take its first set of the day. Seven unanswered points brought the Cavaliers ahead, and they later capitalized off errors to take the set to a match point. But one final four-point push from Michigan closed the weekend for good.
Despite a difficult end to the weekend, Virginia’s performance and determination in Friday’s win showed improvement. After a few difficult matches last week, the Cavaliers remained gritty and pulled off an exciting five-set win. As Wells mentioned, this is incredibly important preparation for the team’s upcoming conference play, which begins in less than two weeks.
Before then, however, will be a trip to Columbus, Ohio, for matches Friday and Saturday against Ohio State and Troy. But things are coming together for Virginia just in time.
“We’re just looking to get one percent better each and every day,” Wells said. “[This weekend] was really stressful for our team, and I’m just proud of the way we keep responding. We know the results will come … For us, this weekend was a huge success.”
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