CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- The Virginia Tech volleyball team lost to the Virginia Cavaliers 3-0 (15-25, 23-25, 22-25) Friday on the road at Memorial Gymnasium.
The loss dropped Virginia Tech's record to 11-15 overall and 4-11 in ACC play.
Cera Powell finished with 10 kills on the day to lead the Hokies attack, while finishing with a hitting percentage of .250. Ava Francis also chipped in, recording nine kills and a .238 hitting percentage. Sydney Petersen led the Hokies, hitting .538 with eight kills. Tech also got seven digs from Maddie Slagle to lead them defensively.
Game Notes
» Cera Powell had a team-high 10 kills for Virginia Tech.
» Virginia Tech got a team-high seven digs from Maddie Slagle.
» Virginia Tech attackers were helped by a team-high 30 assists from Hanna Borer.
How It Happened
The Hokies fell behind early, dropping a tough first set 25-15. The two teams traded points to open the match before Virginia went on a a 9-1 scoring run from being tied up at 8-8 to take the 17-9 lead. From there, the Cavaliers closed out the first set, hitting .351, compared to .161 from the Hokies. Powell led the Hokies in the first set with three kills.
Virginia Tech lost the second set 25-23, to fall behind 2-0 in the match. The Hokies jumped out to an early lead, leading 19-15 before the Cavaliers began the comeback. The 'Hoos came all the way back to tie the match up at 23-23 before taking the last four points of the set, capped off by a kill from Grace Turner. UVA had its best offensive performance in the second set, hitting .355. For the Hokies, Francis got in on the action, coming in to record four kills in the set.
The Hokies dropped the third set 25-22 in spite of a solid performance on the attacking end. Virginia Tech put together a .357 attack percentage with 13 kills in the set loss, its best offensive performance of the match. Tech battled in set three, coming back from an 18-12 deficit to tie the match up at 21-21 after a kill from Petersen and a Virginia attack error. The Cavaliers would then close the match on a 4-1 run to take the sweep. Grace Turner led all attackers with 19 kills and Gabby Easton had a match-high 11 digs.
The win gives the Cavaliers half a point in the Commonwealth Clash, presented by Smithfield. Virginia takes the full point in volleyball after defeating the Hokies 3-2 earlier this season on Oct. 28. For more information, visit https://smithfield.sfdbrands.com/en-us/promotions/commonwealth-clash-2022/.
The Hokies return to action on Sunday, taking on Wake Forest at 1 p.m. in Winston-Salem.