Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics
Virginia Volleyball Sweeps Tournament at Xavier
Shannon Wells' second season in Charlottesville is off to a very strong start. The Virginia volleyball team traveled to Cincinnati this weekend for a three-match tournament at Xavier. It took a couple of dramatic finishes, but the Cavaliers came away from the weekend with a perfect 3-0 record to improve to 5-1 on the season.
Friday (9/2): Virginia 3, Xavier 2
The Cavaliers picked up their grittiest win of the season against Xavier, the tournament host. After falling behind two sets to none, Virginia won three straight sets to take the victory by a score of: 17-25, 25-27, 27-25, 25-16, 15-13.
Virginia got off to a slow start in the first set, with eight kills and seven attack errors as a team. The second set was closer with 16 ties and five lead changes, but the Musketeers held on to take set two as well.
In the closing points of the third set, neither team led by more than two. Trailing 23-24, the Cavaliers fended off an Xavier match point courtesy of a Mary Shaffer kill, and then went on to win the set and stay alive.
The fourth set was highly efficient with 14 kills and just three errors for the Hoos, which set the stage for a decisive set five. With the score tied at 10-10 and the match hanging in the balance, Virginia flexed the depth of its roster with four players recording kills in the final five points (Abby Tadder, Mary Shaffer, Grace Turner, and Brooklyn Borum) and two different setters registering assists (Ashley Le and Gabby Easton). Borum delivered the final blow, hammering home a kill off the block from the left side to clinch the victory.
The depth was also noticeable in the box score. Grace Turner led the way with a double-double, registering 19 kills and 14 digs. Mary Shaffer and Abby Tadder had great matches as well, with Shaffer finishing with 14 kills and four blocks, and Tadder adding 12 kills and six blocks while also hitting .421 in the match. Ashley Le and Gabby Easton continued to split duties at setter effectively, assisting on 33 and 22 kills, respectively.
Saturday (9/3): Virginia 3, Purdue Fort Wayne 0
After a five-set win on Friday night, the Cavaliers got into a groove and recorded a straight set victory against Purdue Fort Wayne: 25-19, 25-18, 25-23.
The first two sets finished quickly for the Cavaliers, with Purdue Fort Wayne recording a lot of attack errors to help Virginia, who committed considerably fewer errors.
In the third set, Virginia registered 18 kills and four errors, the best rate of match and finished hitting .227 overall. The Musketeers led the third set by as many as eight points, but the Hoos would not see their sweep so easily spoiled and climbed back into the set. Trailing 22-23, Cavalier hitters Brooklyn Borum, GG Carvacho, and Abby Tadder earned three straight kills to seal the match.
The Virginia offense came from many sources, with Abby Tadder and Grace Turner earning nine kills, Brooklyn Borum eight, and Mary Shaffer six. Madison Morey added 15 digs in the victory.
Saturday (9/3): Virginia 3, Eastern Michigan 2
After giving up a 2-0 lead in the match, the Hoos rallied in the fifth set to finish off the weekend in emphatic fashion.. The Cavaliers beat Eastern Michigan 25-19, 25-20, 24-26, 20-25, 15-6. In the end, the Hoos hit .286 to earn the victory.
In the fifth set, the two teams were tied at five before the Cavaliers took over. Madison Morey had two aces and Brooklyn Borum and Grace Turner had kills in a 5-0 run. EMU mustered one point to make it 10-6, and then the Cavaliers went on another 5-0 run that included a few East Michigan errors and then kills from Mary Shaffer and Abby Tadder. The Hoos hit .571 in the final set.
While the match extended a little longer after the two sets lost, the Cavaliers dominated the fifth with that 10-1 run to complete the undefeated weekend. Grace Turner had 15 kills and nine digs, and Brooklyn Borum had 14 kills and seven digs and hit .355. Mary Shaffer hit .391 with 14 kills and three blocks. Abby Tadder had a great game with 11 kills on an incredible .625 hitting percentage, and she also added seven total blocks.
Grace Turner, Abby Tadder, and Madison Morey made the all-tournament team in this successful weekend for the Cavaliers, who are now 5-1 on the season.
After back-to-back road tournaments, Virginia will finally have its home opener with a pair of matches against Charlotte on Friday at 7pm and Saturday at 3pm next weekend at Memorial Gymnasium.
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