Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics
Previewing the 2022 Virginia Volleyball Season
A new energy has been infused into the Virginia volleyball program as it heads into its second year under the direction of head coach Shannon Wells. UVA unveiled a new court at Memorial Gymnasium and revealed new orange uniforms for the upcoming season. Although her first season in Charlottesville was far from a success on paper, with the Cavaliers turning in a 8-20 record (1-17 in the ACC) and ending the season on a 16-game losing streak, Wells is starting to get the program pointed in the right direction.
Virginia brings back several talented starters from last season, including experienced veterans Grace Turner and Mary Shaffer and rising sophomores Brooklyn Borum, Ashley Le, and Abby Tadder, who each had fantastic freshman seasons, as well as a few impactful additions via the transfer portal.
With excitement rising surrounding the program, Shannon Wells will look to take a big leap with the Cavaliers in year two.
Here's a breakdown of the roster and schedule for the 2022 Virginia volleyball season:
Roster Breakdown
The setter is the engine of the offense and Virginia will have two quality options at that spot this season. Sophomore Ashley Le started in all 28 matches and played in 98 sets last season, leading the team with 506 assists at a rate of 5.16 assists per set. She was also third on the team with 187 digs. Shannon Wells also brought in graduate transfer Gabby Easton from Ole Miss, who led the Rebels with 597 assists in the 2020 season. Easton began her career at Clemson, where she was an ACC All-Freshman selection in 2018.
Sophomore Abby Tadder leads the way at the middle blocker position. As a true freshman last fall, Tadder started 25 matches and was second on the team with 88 blocks and fifth with 113 kills. This offseason, Virginia supplemented the position with Veresia Yon, a graduate transfer from West Florida. Last season, Yon led her team with 405 kills, set the program record with 157 blocks, and registered a .462 hitting percentage, the second-best mark in all of Division II volleyball. Yon was named the Gulf South Conference Player of the Year and a First-Team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Senior Mattison Matthews also returns, providing leadership, experience, and depth.
UVA has a number of weapons returning at outside hitter. Junior Mary Shaffer was third on the team in kills with 189 and fourth in hitting percentage at .175 and earned a selection to the All-ACC Academic team. Brooklyn Borum was sensational in her first year with the Cavaliers, leading the team with 234 kills, seven double-doubles, and a reception percentage of .972. Borum was also voted the VaSID Rookie of the Year. Graduate student Grace Turner is back for her fifth season at UVA. Turner led the team with 27 aces and 283.0 points, was second with 228 kills, and fourth with 157 digs last year. UVA also added a pair of transfers to its hitting unit. Junior Chloe Wilson transferred to Virginia from fellow ACC school Wake Forest, where she totaled 108 points and 32 blocks and averaged 1.75 kills per set last year. Junior GG Carvacho, another transfer from Ole Miss, was second on the team in kills with 180 in the 2020 season. Carvacho had 95 kills and 22 blocks for the Rebels in 2021. Seniors Jayna Francis and Simone Dominique bring experience to the UVA outside hitters as well.
UVA's roster at the defensive specialist/libero spot features one player in each class. Junior Madison Morey has the most experience and played 75 sets last season, recording 93 digs (fifth on the team) and 14 aces (third on the team). Sophomore Heyli Velasquez appeared in 14 matches and 34 sets last season, but made her first career start in the season finale against Boston College. Senior Josi Williams has played in 33 matches and 52 sets over the course of her career. Finally, Kate Johnson is the sole freshman on the roster and comes to UVA after a decorated high school volleyball career at Buchholz High School in Gainesville, where she was the three-time Female Student-Athlete of the Year.
With a decent mix of experienced veterans and talented newcomers, the Cavaliers have the firepower to compete for some wins in the ACC this season, but the conference still boasts some of the top programs in all of collegiate volleyball that UVA will have to face this fall.
Schedule Breakdown
Virginia's 29-match regular season schedule includes 14 home matches at Memorial Gymnasium. But, UVA will start its season with back-to-back road tournaments in Gainesville, Florida (against ETSU, North Florida, and Florida) and Cincinnati, Ohio (against Xavier, Purdue Fort Wayne, and Eastern Michigan).
The Cavaliers then return home for a pair of matches against Charlotte on September 9th and 10th. UVA hosts a home tournament the following weekend featuring East Carolina, Mercer and Maryland.
After that, Virginia will begin its 18-match ACC slate. This season, UVA has road matches against Duke, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Boston College, and Syracuse. The Cavaliers will host Pittsburgh, Florida State, Miami, Louisville, and Notre Dame at Mem Gym. Virginia will face four ACC foes twice this season, once at home and once on the road. Those opponents are North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest, and Virginia Tech.
Virginia's schedule includes four opponents who are ranked in the AVCA Coaches preseason poll: at No. 15 Florida (Aug. 27), vs. No. 6 Pittsburgh (Sept. 28), at No. 9 Georgia Tech (Oct. 7), and vs. No. 4 Louisville (Oct. 21).
See Virginia's full 2022 volleyball schedule below:
| Date/Time | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|
Aug. 26 at 4pm | ETSU | Gainesville, FL |
Aug. 27 at 10am | North Florida | Gainesville, FL |
Aug. 27 at 7:30pm | at Florida | Gainesville, FL |
Sept. 2 at 6pm | at Xavier | Cincinnati, OH |
Sept. 3 at 10am | Purdue Fort Wayne | Cincinnati, OH |
Sept. 3 at 4pm | Eastern Michigan | Cincinnati, OH |
Sept. 9 at 7pm | Charlotte | Charlottesville, VA |
Sept. 10 at 3pm | Charlotte | Charlottesville, VA |
Sept. 16 at 12:30pm | East Carolina | Charlottesville, VA |
Sept. 16 at 7:30pm | Mercer | Charlottesville, VA |
Sept. 17 at 3pm | Maryland | Charlottesville, VA |
Sept. 23 at 7pm | NC State | Charlottesville, VA |
Sept. 25 at 1pm | North Carolina | Charlottesville, VA |
Sept. 28 at 8pm | Pittsburgh | Charlottesville, VA |
Oct. 2 at 4pm | at Duke | Durham, NC |
Oct. 7 at 7pm | at Georgia Tech | Atlanta, GA |
Oct. 9 at 1pm | at Clemson | Clemson, SC |
Oct. 14 at 6pm | Florida State | Charlottesville, VA |
Oct. 16 at 1pm | Miami | Charlottesville, VA |
Oct. 21 at 7pm | Louisville | Charlottesville, VA |
Oct. 23 at 1pm | Notre Dame | Charlottesville, VA |
Oct. 28 at 6pm | at Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, VA |
Oct. 30 at 1pm | at Wake Forest | Winston-Salem, NC |
Nov. 4 at 7pm | at Boston College | Chestnut Hill, MA |
Nov. 6 at 1pm | at Syracuse | Syracuse, NY |
Nov. 11 at 7pm | Virginia Tech | Charlottesville, VA |
Nov. 20 at 1pm | Wake Forest | Charlottesville, VA |
Nov. 23 at 7pm | at NC State | Raleigh, NC |
Nov. 26 at 1pm | at North Carolina | Chapel Hill, NC |
The Virginia volleyball team opens the 2022 season this weekend, competing in the Gators Invitational in Gainesville, Florida. UVA will face East Tennessee State on Friday at 4pm, North Florida on Saturday at 10am, and Florida on Saturday at 7:30pm.
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