Virginia volleyball traveled south to Florida this weekend for two ACC matchups, the second against No. 15 Miami. The Cavaliers (10-10, 3-7 ACC) left Florida with two total set wins after falling 3-1 to Florida State Friday and then stumbling again Sunday.
While the Cavaliers struggled with a low offensive output against the Hurricanes (17-4, 7-3 ACC), Virginia impressively continued its streak of taking a set off each of its ranked opponents this season. The Cavaliers rallied in the second set to do so, but ultimately it was not enough. Virginia lost the match in four sets, 25-15, 25-19, 15-25, 25-20.
Once again, while Virginia is showing promise in individual sets, it is still struggling to string together multiple sets when facing off against more competitive opponents — Miami and the Seminoles (11-8, 5-5 ACC) sit sixth and ninth in the incredibly competitive ACC which features six top-25 teams.
The Cavaliers have struggled to open matches, making for a slow start where they must dig themselves out of a hole — which is difficult when facing quick-hitting, high-caliber teams. Combined with a low offensive output Sunday, when the Cavaliers tallied 36 kills to the Hurricanes’ 56, Virginia struggled to reposition itself for the rest of the match.
In the first set, Miami began quickly and scored nine of the first 13 points. While the Cavaliers managed to bring the set within five points later, it was not enough to make up for the original deficit. The Hurricanes scored the final six points to close out their dominant opening set, forcing a necessary readjustment and response from Virginia.
The Cavaliers did just that in the second set. Freshman outside hitter Reagan Ennist recorded six kills, including the final point of the match. Two of Ennist’s other kills were part of a five-point run midway through the set that positioned Virginia well to push back against Miami’s efforts to take back a lead.
However, the Cavaliers petered out once again and lost by 10 points — their largest margin of the day — in the third set. The Hurricanes took off early, scoring five of the first six points. They continued to challenge Virginia on both sides of the ball, building the largest lead of the night at 22-9. The Cavaliers only notched two more points, one off a service error and the other a kill from senior middle blocker Jasmine Robinson, before falling 25-15.
The final set featured glimmers of hope for the Cavaliers throughout, as there were seven tied scores and three lead changes throughout. But just two consecutive Miami points built enough momentum midway through the set for Virginia to lose hope of extending the match. The Hurricanes maintained their lead despite a fight from the Cavaliers, ultimately closing out the match.
While Virginia is showing promise in its ability to knock sets off of national powerhouses, including Miami, No. 5 Stanford and No. 8 Louisville, these conference losses still push the Cavaliers lower in ACC standings as they continue through their in-conference schedule. Virginia needs stronger all-around performances in its upcoming home match Friday at 7 p.m. against Georgia Tech, which is just below Miami in the ACC standings. Otherwise, the Cavaliers will likely continue to drop in the conference, losing sight of any chance to turn their season around.
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