Virginia Volleyball Falls to Clemson, Loses Heartbreaker to No. 11 Georgia Tech

The Cavaliers were tested against some tough ACC opponents this weekend in front of a packed Memorial Gymnasium crowd. While the team finished 0-2 on the weekend, some tight sets with Clemson and a five-set thriller against the 11th ranked Georgia Tech shows that Virginia can compete in this difficult conference. 

Friday 10/6 - Clemson 3, Virginia 1

Virginia played Clemson closely in the first three sets of this match, but then ran out of steam as Clemson ran away with the fourth set. Set one had ten ties and three lead changes, with Clemson starting out with the lead but then Virginia holding the lead in the middle of the set. Clemson managed a 4-0 run to tie the score at 23. Clemson was able to stop one set point by Virginia, but then a Brooklyn Borum kill and a Veresia Yon block sealed the 26-24 victory. Brooklyn Borum had three kills, two aces, and four digs in the set, doing it all for her team.

Clemson jumped out to a 13-6 lead in set two thanks to hitting .333 in the set. Virginia pulled within three points when it was 20-17, but could never get closer than that, so Clemson won 25-19.

The third set was even more competitive than the first, with 13 ties and four lead changes. Clemson had a 7-0 scoring run to lead 15-8, but Virginia put together a 3-0 run and later a 6-0 run with two Veresia Yon kills and a kill and ace from Ashley Le to take a 19-18 lead. The set went back-and-forth from there, with Virginia staving off four set points before losing 29-27 to Clemson. The Orange had three service errors in the final points and Virginia had two service errors, so most of the points at the end of the set were on these miscues. In fact, the final two points Clemson scored were on a service error and a ball handling error, so it was a tough end to the dramatic set for the Hoos. A stat to highlight was seven digs from Kate Johnson in the back row.

In the fourth set, Clemson dominated and Virginia struggled, hitting -0.054 with only six kills and eight errors. The Orange held an 8-0 lead courtesy of two aces, two kills, two blocks, and two Cavalier hitting errors. While Virginia got on the board after that, Clemson continued to push ahead. Lily Gervase had a few kills late in the set, but Clemson cruised to the 25-12 win and took the match 3-1.

Veresia Yon had ten kills and five blocks to pace the Cavaliers. Brooklyn Borum had seven kills, three aces, and 12 digs and Kate Johnson added 11 digs.

Sunday 10/8 - Georgia Tech 3, Virginia 2

Virginia was just a few points away from a historic upset against No. 11 Georgia Tech, but instead the team will have to use this near miss as motivation and take away the positives of playing evenly with such a great team.

Georgia Tech came out with a bang in set one, hitting .406 with 17 kills and just four errors. Meanwhile, Virginia struggled against the nationally ranked team, and things didn’t look good for the Cavaliers. The Yellow Jackets went on a 18-6 run to lead 23-9, and then it was easy from there.

Instead of struggling for the rest of the match, the Cavaliers reset and played an incredible final four sets. Outside hitters GG Carvacho and Brooklyn Borum led the team in set two, with Carvacho getting six kills and Borum adding five. The teams traded points early on, and no team led by more than two points all set. Trailing 21-19, the Cavaliers orchestrated a 6-0 run to win the set. GG Carvacho, Brooklyn Borum, and Veresia Yon all had kills in the run, and Regan Trueblood had 14 assists for the Hoos.

In the third set, Georgia Tech took a 14-7 lead and held the lead the rest of the set, despite Virginia making a few attempts to close the gap. Milan Gomillion had six digs in the set, but the Georgia Tech offense managed 16 kills.

Virginia bounced back once again in the fourth set behind an 8-0 run that included three blocks, two kills, and an ace that gave Virginia a 15-10 lead. Georgia Tech made a run to tie the set at 19 after a long rally, but Virginia regained composure and rattled off three straight points. A first ball kill by Lily Gervase sent the two teams to the deciding fifth set.

The fifth set was an offensive showcase, with Georgia Tech hitting .455 and Virginia at .333. A kill by Milan Gomillion on a deflected dig gave Virginia a 6-5 lead in the set, and a first ball kill and later a Regan Trueblood ace made the lead 10-8. However, the Yellow Jackets executed a 3-0 run to take the lead away, and then several first ball kills gave Georgia Tech match point. The Hoos fended off one match point, but then a first ball kill sealed the win for Georgia Tech. The Cavaliers battled in the final four sets and came up just short, a disappointing end to an impressive showing.

Brooklyn Borum had 15 kills and 13 digs, earning a double double. GG Carvacho had 13 kills and Veresia Yon had 12 to round out the double digit kills. Milan Gomillion had a match high 23 digs for the Cavaliers, and Regan Trueblood had 39 assists as she took over the primary setter duties.

Virginia (8-8, 1-5 ACC) will face Notre Dame and Louisville next weekend, looking to get another ACC win.

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