In Front of a Packed Mem Gym, UVA Volleyball Rallies from 2-1 Deficit to Defeat Akron

It was a packed house at Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night for the first Virginia volleyball home match of the season and first home match for Shannon Wells as UVA head coach.

The fans certainly got what they came for.

Virginia (3-1) and Akron (3-2) went five sets, with UVA rallying from down two sets to one to win the fourth and fifth sets and clinch their third straight victory (16-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-17, 15-13).

Akron took the first set by a wide margin, using multiple long runs to win 25-16 in the opening set.

UVA responded with strong defense in the second set, recording five of the team’s 14 total blocks for the match in the second frame and winning the set, 25-22.

Much like the second set, the third set was tightly contested from start to finish and although UVA had a lead midway through, Akron finished the set on a 5-0 run to take a commanding 2-1 advantage in the match.

In the fourth set, it was Virginia’s turn to dominate, boasting an impressive .600 hitting percentage and winning the set 25-17 to force a deciding fifth set.

The final set was a game of runs. Akron went up 8-3 before Virginia won 9 of the next ten points to take a 12-9 lead. Akron went on a 3-0 run to even the set at 12 points apiece, before the Hoos won three points in a row to take the fifth set and the match.

Grace Turner led Virginia with 17 kills and five blocks, while Ashley Le tallied 39 assists, the most assists by any UVA player this season. Mary Shaffer had 12 kills and Alana Walker had 10 kills for the Cavaliers.

With the win, Virginia improves to 3-1 on the season and will face Winthrop (1-3) in the second and final match of the home tournament on Saturday at 2pm.