Virginia Volleyball Falls to Duke on Senior Night

UVA lost in straight sets to Duke in Charlottesville on Friday night in front of the largest crowd at Memorial Gymnasium this season.

While the night honoring GG Carvacho, Ciera Hecht, Madison Morey, Regan Trueblood, Chloe Wilson, and Veresia Yon didn’t end in a victory for the Virginia volleyball team, the seniors got to play in front of a loud crowd and celebrate their accomplishments as Cavaliers. The first two sets were close, with Duke earning two point wins in both, but then the Blue Devils left little doubt in set three.

Despite five kills from Ciera Hecht and four blocks from Veresia Yon in set one, the Hoos came up just short against Duke. The set was close at first, with no team leading by more than two points. Duke put together a little run to take a 15-11 lead, but a few points later Virginia responded with a 6-0 run to take a 18-17 lead. Abby Tadder had three straight kills in the run, and Ciera Hecht had two. Duke tied the score at 18 and then again at 19, and the Cavaliers forced Duke to call its second timeout when a kill from Ciera Hecht made the score 21-19. Out of the timeout, Duke went on a 3-0 run to take a 22-21 lead, and shortly later a kill and ace gave Duke set point. While Virginia fought off one set point, Duke took the set 25-23 after the late comeback.

Set two was also a nailbiter, with the teams trading points for most of the set. Duke led 17-12 briefly and the Hoos called a timeout, but quickly the score was tied again after a few Duke errors and two Brooklyn Borum kills. Once again, the teams went back-and-forth, and Virginia was able to take a 23-20 lead after two more Duke attack errors. Virginia had set point at 24-22, but Duke was able to fend off two match points to tie the score. The set went past 25 points as neither team could score two straight points, but Duke got the win after a service error and attack error from Virginia, 29-27.

The Cavaliers had real chances to win both of the first two sets, but came up just short in the late points. In the third set, Duke left no doubt. Virginia made nine attack errors and hit -0.167, allowing the Blue Devils to race out to a 7-1 lead and never look back. An 8-0 run made the score 18-5, and a few points later Duke had match point at 24-10. Virginia scored a few points to prolong the set, but Duke ended up winning 25-14.

Abby Tadder had nine kills and four blocks, Ciera Hecht had seven kills, and Veresia Yon had six blocks to lead Virginia. The Cavaliers host NC State at home on Wednesday night and then travel to Virginia Tech on Saturday for the final match of the season. 

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