Third-year outside hitter Reese Wuebker dominated early and often, piling up 12 kills, 12 digs and three aces, matching a career high, as Virginia volleyball opened the VCU Invitational with a 3-1 victory over William & Mary at the Siegel Center Friday afternoon. The tone she set resonated across the roster, extending the Cavaliers’ dominance in the series to six straight wins and pushing their all-time record against the Tribe to 22-21.
The Cavaliers (2-1, 0-0 ACC) opened the match with a narrow win in the first set before their opponents rallied to blow open the second, tying the match at one set apiece. Virginia fought through a tight third set to retake the lead, then closed it out for a four-set victory over the Tribe (1-3, 0-0 CAA), 25-23, 15-25, 25-19, 25-21.
Similarly to their match against Liberty, Virginia let up the first points of the first set and then fell to an early 4-8 deficit. But the Cavaliers quickly cut that deficit with a kill from Wuebker and an assist from fourth-year setter Hannah Scott. The assist from Scott would be one of many, as she would finish the match with 22 assists and her first double-double of the season.
Throughout the rest of the first set, no team managed to decisively pull ahead of the other up until the final points, where a service error decided the 25th point and gave the Cavaliers the win.
The back-and-forth bout quickly resumed in the second set. And with the Cavaliers slowly building a lead, the Tribe answered emphatically, going on a 5-0 run to even up the score. While a kill interrupted the run for a little, the Tribe immediately went on their largest run of the afternoon, scoring seven straight.
And although Coach Shannon Wells tried to stifle the run with two timeouts, the Tribe piled on points relentlessly, ending the set at 25-15.
The third set belonged to Wuebker from the opening serve. The team had stumbled early in the first two sets, but this time, she struck first, sending back-to-back aces past the Tribe defense before William & Mary could find its footing. William & Mary tried to claw back, but Virginia had already found its rhythm. The Cavaliers reeled off seven straight points, then closed the set the way it began, with Wuebker igniting a final 3-0 run that fourth-year outside hitter Lauryn Bowie finished off.
In the final set, the Cavaliers left no doubt they wanted this match over, and they made sure of it. They never trailed, seizing an early 8-1 lead and, at one point, leading by 10.
Understanding the gravity of the situation, the Tribe slowly chipped away at the lead to make it 22-19 by the time a Virginia timeout was called. In that timeout, Virginia regained composure, and the Cavaliers exited the set with another finishing kill from Bowie to seal the 3-1 win.
Three of the four sets the Cavaliers played represented the eager tenacity that the team occasionally exhibits. While a combined 37 digs from first-year setter Olivia Siskin, Wuebker and Scott will place any team in a favorable position, the Cavaliers cannot let a 10-point lead disintegrate as it did in the fourth set, and they cannot let a second-set run get out of hand in future matches.
Virginia will look to carry its authoritative form into the final match of the VCU Invitational, facing host VCU Saturday at 6 p.m. The match will be available on ESPN+.
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