Virginia headed down to the Lone Star State to play No. 10 SMU Friday — a trip that added another loss to an already existing losing streak. The Cavaliers (10-13, 3-10 ACC) fell in three sets to the Mustangs (18-5, 10-3 ACC), 25-7, 25-17, 25-18.
Whether it was the long travel day or the change in time zones, the first set was a rough one for Virginia. From the start, the defense looked confused and discombobulated on the court, letting SMU get an early lead.
Before the Cavaliers knew it, it was 14-4. However, not all of the Mustang’s points were from kills — many were from Virginia’s five total attack errors. In fact, by the end of the first set, the teams’ stats were drastically different. The Cavaliers had only six kills compared to the Mustangs’ 16, zero blocks, zero aces and only a 0.04 hit percentage — SMU had 0.667. Virginia lost the set 25-7, one of its least productive sets this season.
Despite the brutal loss, Virginia started the second set strong with a kill from sophomore setter Zoey Dood. The Cavaliers continued to hang in with the Mustangs, the first seven points of the set being back and forth with kills from both sides, but soon SMU began to run away with it.
Senior outside hitter Kaydence Boothe tried to keep the set alive, having four kills, but the Mustangs were orchestrating a quick offense, making it hard for Virginia to adjust. Freshman outside hitter Reagan Ennist had four impressive digs to keep the set alive and Dood also had two more kills — even so, the Cavaliers lost 25-17.
Statistically, set two was not much better for Virginia. The Cavaliers had nine kills and three blocks, but still no aces and a hitting percentage of zero. Additionally, they had nine attack errors throughout the set, accounting for a little more than a third of the Mustangs’ points.
The third set started similarly to the first, with SMU getting a big lead early and Virginia trying not to fall behind. At 11-4, it became clear that the Cavaliers knew the match was out of their hands, but their defense still tried to dig deep, and that they did.
Virginia was able to claw its way back, holding the Mustangs off as long as possible. With combined help from Boothe, Dood and Ennist, the Cavaliers scored nine points while holding SMU to eight. Although the score was 20-13, it still was the most productive their offense had been all night. Virginia went on to score five more points, but the Mustangs focused in and did what they needed to finish the set.
SMU freshman outside hitter Christa Wilburn is averaging 0.41 aces per set, and sophomore middle blocker Favor Anyanwu is averaging 1.41 blocks per set, ACC-leading numbers. Virginia was never going to have an easy day, but it was expected to play better than it did. Although they pulled it together at the end and had some fight, the Cavaliers need to perform better in the earlier sets if they want to be competitive throughout the entire match.
Now on a five-game losing streak, Virginia heads to face No. 3 Pittsburgh at noon Sunday, a match that will surely not be any easier.
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