Kristen Leland Virginia Cavaliers volleyball — Photo courtesy of Virginia Athletics Communications

UVA Volleyball Falls at Florida State in Straight Sets

The Hoos were outmatched by the Seminoles and dropped their fifth-straight ACC contest

Author:
Kathleen Boyce
Publish date:
Oct 16, 2021 10:23 AM EDT

In one of the best years of ACC volleyball with three ranked teams and many other teams ready for postseason runs, the UVA volleyball team has had some stiff competition.

The Hoos (8-9, 1-6 ACC) fell to the Florida State Seminoles (12-4, 5-2 ACC) on Friday night 9-25, 22-25, and 12-25 for their fifth straight ACC loss.

In set one, Florida State hit .583 with 14 kills and no hitting errors, a stat which is nearly unheard of in the sport. The Seminoles finished the contest hitting .457 overall, with only six total errors, certainly one of the sharpest offenses the Cavaliers have faced all year.

Set two looked like Florida State would jump out to a large lead again when the Seminoles led 10-4, but UVA was able to rally using three kills from Jayna Francis, two kills from Brooklyn Borum, and kills from Simone Dominique and Alana Walker to take a 14-12 lead. However, FSU responded and the Hoos were unable to mount another comeback in the set.

The Hoos had 15 kills in set two, one more than the Seminoles’ 14. But UVA committed 10 hitting errors, while FSU only had two.

FSU hitters Morgan Chacon and Sydney Conley led the final set, and finished with 14 and nine kills, respectively. Those two anchored the dominant offense all match long, and Morgan Chacon was also an asset from behind the service line, as she helped start a 5-0 Seminole run in set three.

A noticeable missing piece for UVA was the lack of a blocking presence. Throughout the season, UVA has been a solid blocking team, even out-blocking No. 2 Pittsburgh in their matchup at the end of September. Middle blocker Alana Walker is among the nation’s leaders in blocks per set and is usually a force to be reckoned with at the net, but she and Simone Dominique only managed one block apiece. The Florida State hitters were able to get open looks on the court, explaining the high hitting percentage.

While Walker couldn’t match her normal blocking performance, she was the team leader in kills with eight and hit an impressive .357. Mary Shaffer and Jayna Francis followed with six and five kills.

Florida State setter Lily Tessier finished with 32 assists and successfully orchestrated an offensive blitz for her team.

The Hoos will continue their Florida road trip and face Miami on Sunday, hoping to end the losing streak at five matches. The Hurricanes are 14-2 overall and 5-1 in ACC play, so it will be a tough task to defeat them.

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