Virginia Volleyball Falls Twice Over the Weekend

UVA volleyball lost 3-1 to Notre Dame and 3-0 to Louisville on the road to fall to 8-10 on the season and 1-7 in the ACC

The Cavalier volleyball team took two tough losses in the ACC over the weekend, winning just one set in the two matches.

Friday 10/13 - Notre Dame 3, Virginia 1

Virginia and Notre Dame were evenly matched for the first two sets, but then Notre Dame hit .517 and .444 in the third and fourth sets to blow open the match. A 4-0 run helped Virginia take a 14-12 lead midway through the first set, courtesy of two kills by Abby Tadder. However, Notre Dame went on a run of its own later on, using five straight points to lead 22-18. Virginia attempted to rally back with two blocks and a kill, but Notre Dame ultimately won 25-22.

In the second set, Abby Tadder had six kills on seven swings and Ciera Hecht had three service aces to propel their team to the win. The maximum lead in the set was three points, so it was dramatic throughout. Virginia led 20-17, but then Notre Dame rallied for a 4-0 run to take a one point lead. In response, Ciera Hecht collaborated with Abby Tadder on a block and then had two aces, and later Abby Tadder and Brooklyn Borum sealed the 25-23 win with two straight kills.

Unfortunately, the Hoos couldn’t transfer the momentum into the rest of the match, as Notre Dame won sets three and four 25-10. Milan Gomillion managed six digs and Abby Tadder had four kills in set three, but the Hoos hit .067 with six errors. Set four was a similar story, so the Fighting Irish were dominant and ran away with the 3-1 match win.

Abby Tadder had 14 kills and five blocks for the Cavaliers, and Veresia Yon and Chloe Wilson had nine and eight kills apiece. Regan Trueblood had a double double with 28 assists and ten digs.

Sunday 10/15 - Louisville 3, Virginia 0

Virginia knew that a matchup against the sixth ranked Louisville Cardinals would be difficult, and that proved to be true as the Cardinals swept the Cavaliers. Virginia hit just .087 in the match with 23 errors, while Louisville hit .303.

The first set had a 6-0 run early on and a 7-3 run midway through to help Louisville amass a 17-8 lead. Cavalier hitters got a few kills in to make the score closer with Veresia Yon leading the way with three kills and a block, but in the end Louisville won 25-16.

Virginia kept the score closer in set two, as a 4-0 run with two aces from Regan Trueblood meant that the Hoos trailed just 12-9. However, Louisville responded with a 5-1 run and didn’t let Virginia get closer. Brooklyn Borum and Chloe Wilson had three kills apiece in the set.

Set three was the closest of them all, as there were multiple lead changes early on, but it was still mostly drama free. Virginia trailed 10-8 before Louisville pulled ahead and led 17-10, and later 20-12. Lily Gervase had four kills on six swings in set four for Virginia, but that wasn’t enough to complete the comeback, so Louisville won 3-0.

Lily Gervase and Chloe Wilson both had five kills and two blocks, and the freshman Gervase was a bright spot for the Hoos as she hit .500 on the match.

Virginia (8-10, 1-7 ACC) will travel to Pittsburgh for a midweek matchup on Wednesday night and then travel to Raleigh to face NC State on Sunday. 

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