Virginia won its first three matches this season before losing 3-0 to Coastal Carolina. The Cavaliers avenged that defeat the next day, knocking off the Chanticleers 3-2, and put together an eight-match winning streak before losing Sept. 29 at NC State.
To Wells, her team’s performance Sept. 27 in Winston-Salem, N.C., was especially encouraging. After dropping the first two sets against Wake Forest, Virginia took the next three to win its ACC opener for the first time since 2015.
“It’s been great to be able to tell our players that, hey, this is the first time this happened since this and since this,” Wells said. “We try to celebrate those little milestones.”
Two days later, the Hoos weren’t as sharp against the Wolfpack, and they headed home disappointed with the performance. Back in Charlottesville, they practiced well and then delivered emphatic statements against FSU and Miami.
“Now I think they really know what we can be and how good we can be,” Wells said.
Apart from posting two wins over Virginia Tech, including a sweep in the season finale, the Hoos produced few highlights in 2023. Even so, Wells expected her team to take a significant step forward this fall.
“We always felt like this was going to be a big season for us, just with the experience that we have and the two really incredible athletes up here,” Wells said, motioning to Borum and libero Milan Gomillion, who joined her at the post-match press conference Sunday.
Borum and Gomillion are among the six seniors on the roster, along with middle blocker Abby Tadder, setter Ashley Le, defensive specialist/libero Heyli Velasquez and outside hitter Elayna Duprey, a transfer from Virginia Tech who enrolled at UVA in January.
Against Florida State, Duprey had a match-high 14 kills, and Gomillion finished with 19 digs. Sophomore right side Lauryn Bowie and junior middle Kate Dean each had four blocks.
Duprey led the Hoos in kills against the Hurricanes, too, with a match-high 12. Bowie and Dean each had eight kills, and Tadder added seven. Gomillion and Borum contributed 12 digs apiece, and junior defensive specialist Kate Johnson had 11.
“I don’t think we’re a one-man show,” Borum said Sunday. “I think we’re all in it together and we’re all putting in the work at practice and we’re just seeing the beginning … I think we constantly work on this at practice, and it just showed in the games today.”
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