Virginia Volleyball Beats Old Dominion in Five-Set Thriller

A dramatic 18-16 set five victory capped a back-and-forth affair against the Old Dominion Monarchs and brought the Virginia volleyball team's record to 4-1 on the season. 

ODU dominated the first set, hitting .333 and earning the 25-16 victory. The Cavaliers made six attack errors and two service errors to help Old Dominion take a 13-4 lead, and then a 4-0 run later in the set extended the lead to 23-11. Virginia got a little momentum back with a 5-2 run, but the deficit was far too large to overcome.

The second set was much closer, and UVA led by three or four points for the first half of the set. ODU tied things at 17, but the Hoos responded with a Lauryn Bowie kill and a Madison Morey ace, and didn’t give up the lead for the rest of the set. The Cavaliers ended up winning 25-21.

While Virginia started out with a lead in set three, ODU went on a 4-0 run to tie the score at 9-9. Overall, UVA hit .111 with nine errors, making it difficult to stage big runs. ODU continued to score, going up 15-11. While the hitting percentage wasn’t there for the Hoos, the Cavalier defense was impressive, with six blocks and 18 digs. Lauryn Bowie had a few kills late in the set as she tried to keep UVA in it, but Old Dominion sealed the 25-21 win.

Trailing 2-1, Virginia woke up and excelled in a 25-16 set four victory. The Cavaliers hit an impressive .385 with 17 kills and just two errors, a major improvement from the previous sets. In addition, UVA had another 18 digs, locking down the Monarchs. All of the Cavalier hitters got in on the action, with Veresia Yon leading the way. UVA scored in two, three, and four point bunches to accumulate a 19-9 lead, and never let ODU put together a run to come back.

Once again, it was time for a race to 15 points; only this time, it would take 18 points until Virginia could win. Ashley Le kicked things off with three straight aces, giving Virginia the essential fifth set momentum. ODU fought back quickly, keeping things close. The Monarchs took the lead at 10-9 after a 3-0 run, but a Veresia Yon kill tied the score at 10. After trading points, ODU held a 14-13 win before Virginia called a timeout. The Cavaliers stopped three straight match points from ODU, using kills by Abby Tadder and Veresia Yon and then a block shared by Ashley Le and Veresia Yon to survive the three points. From there, Lauryn Bowie had a kill to make it 17-16 and then Brooklyn Borum had a game-winning ace, and the fourth ace of the set.

In the dramatic win, Lauryn Bowie led all attackers with 18 kills, and Abby Tadder had 15 kills and five blocks while continuing her streak of efficiency with a hitting percentage of .414. Veresia Yon had 12 kills and three blocks to round out the double digit Cavalier kills. Kate Johnson had 20 kills in the match and four service aces as a major back row contributor, and Milan Gomillion added 13 digs. Setter Ashley Le had a double double with 43 assists and 13 digs, and she also stuffed the stat sheet with five aces and two blocks.

Virginia will travel to Washington, D.C. on Friday to play in the DMV Invitational. The Cavaliers will face Howard, Coastal Carolina, and UMBC on three consecutive days. 

Subscribe to the Cavaliers Now Newsletter to receive UVA sports news in your inbox first thing on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

See more Virginia sports news and content: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports Illustrated

To stay up to date on all Virginia Cavaliers sports news, follow CavaliersNow on social media:

Facebook: @CavaliersNow
Twitter: @CavaliersNowFN