UVA Volleyball Drops Two Heartbreaking Five-Set Matches to Open ACC Play

Virginia fell to NC State on Friday and UNC on Sunday, both in five sets

Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

It was a less than ideal start to ACC action for the Virginia volleyball team, as the Cavaliers suffered two heartbreaking losses on their home floor. UVA dropped a pair of five-set matches to NC State on Friday and North Carolina on Sunday at Memorial Gymnasium.

Friday (9/23) - NC State 3, Virginia 2

In the first match of ACC play, the Cavaliers went the distance with the NC State Wolfpack, but ultimately fell 26-24, 17-25, 23-25, 25-18, 8-15.

Kate Johnson was a serving specialist in set one, helping the Cavaliers complete a 10-1 run to win the first set, but then the Wolfpack responded by winning sets two and three. The Cavaliers hit .250 in set four to force the deciding fifth set, but NC State left little in doubt in the fifth set, taking a 9-5 lead and extending that advantage to 14-7 with the help of several attack errors from the Cavaliers.

Grace Turner had 20 kills to lead all attackers in the match and she took 50 swings in total as the primary option for the Cavalier setters. Brooklyn Borum added 11 kills as the other Cavalier with double digit kills. Setter Gabby Easton had a do-it-all match with 27 assists, ten digs, five kills, and two blocks.

Sunday (9/25) - North Carolina 3, Virginia 2

The Cavaliers lost another heartbreaker on Sunday afternoon, winning the first two sets before losing the final three to the Tar Heels to fall 25-22, 25-20, 15-25, 14-25, 14-16.

Virginia had 12 team digs in the first set and managed to hit .321 in the second set, contributing to the wins that gave the Hoos a commanding two sets to none edge. From there, the Tar Heels responded by hitting .483 and .435 in sets three and four, respectively. The Cavaliers had no answer for the UNC offense in those sets, leading to the high hitting percentages that powered the Tar Heels to lopsided wins, seizing all momentum. The Cavaliers responded well in the fifth set and had a 14-13 lead, UNC staved off one match point with a kill and scored three straight points to win 16-14.

Grace Turner tied a career high with 23 kills and also had seven digs, six aces, and three blocks while hitting .348 to continue her fantastic fifth season. Veresia Yon added six kills with a .625 hitting percentage and also had six blocks.

The road ahead only gets tougher for Virginia (8-5, 0-2 ACC), who will host No. 10 Pittsburgh at Mem Gym on Wednesday night.

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