Virginia Cavaliers Volleyball — Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Communications

UVA Volleyball Downed by No. 2 Pittsburgh in Straight Sets

The Cavaliers gave the Panthers a good fight early on, but ultimately fell in straight sets.

Author:
Matt Newton
Publish date:
Sep 29, 2021 11:25 PM EDT

The UVA volleyball team came into Wednesday night’s match at Pittsburgh feeling good. The Hoos had just beaten North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Sunday for their first ACC victory since 2019 and improved their overall record to 8-4, the best start to a UVA volleyball season since 2015.

The Cavaliers certainly had their work cut out for them, though, playing on the road against the 12-0 and No. 2-ranked Panthers.

Virginia hung around in the first set, but the Hoos were ultimately outmatched and lost to Pitt in straight sets (19-25, 15-25, 15-25).

Pittsburgh won the first four points of the match and led by as many as five in the first set, but UVA rallied to cut the deficit to just one at 19-18. After a timeout, the Panthers recorded six consecutive points to end the Cavaliers’ hopes of stealing a set.

The Panthers were much sharper in the second set, using multiple long runs to build a 20-7 lead, before closing out the set 25-15.

In the third and final set, Virginia’s sloppy play helped Pittsburgh build another sizable lead and the Panthers went on to clinch the match with another 25-15 set win.

Grace Turner had seven kills and four digs to lead Virginia. Mary Shaffer added six kills, while Brooklyn Borum and Alana Walker had 4 kills apiece. Ashley Le recorded 10 assists and six digs in the match.

The Cavaliers did well to sustain Pittsburgh’s runs and remain competitive with the Panthers, especially in the first set. But eventually, it became clear that Virginia has a lot of work to do before being able to compete with a team of Pittsburgh’s caliber.

Virginia’s loss at Pittsburgh capped off a three-game stretch of road games to begin ACC play. UVA’s record on the season is 8-5 overall and 1-2 in the ACC. The Cavaliers return home to face Duke on Sunday at 3pm.

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