CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – For the first time since 2010, the Virginia volleyball team (9-9, 1-6 ACC) earned its first victory over Florida State (12-6, 4-3 ACC) after defeating the Seminoles in five sets (21-25, 30-28, 11-25, 25-22, 15-12) at Memorial Gymnasium Friday night. The win snapped a UVA 13-match losing skid in the series and marked the program’s first conference victory in over a year.
Abby Tadder (18 kills, .517 hitting %) and Grace Turner (15 kills, 3 aces) led the Cavaliers’ effort.
Excited for these amazing women! They work so hard, are completely bought in to our culture and systems, and are the best teammates! Thank you UVA fans to getting us through another 5 setter!!!! https://t.co/JxlYJKCENQ
— Shannon Wells (@vbcoachwells) October 15, 2022
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Virginia led by as many as nine, including 17-8, to open the first. After two called FSU timeouts, the Seminoles quickly chipped away at the UVA lead and closed out the set on 17-4 run to win the opening frame, 25-21. Tadder tallied five kills in set No. 1 and hit .444. Despite out-hitting FSU .231 to .154 and posting 4.0 total team blocks, the Cavaliers could not sustain their lead the rest of the way.
- Both teams were close through set No. 2, which featured 17 tied scores and seven lead changes. The Seminoles were the first reach set point, 24-23, but Turner evened the score on her sixth kill of the game. Turner went on to score three more times before the Hoos went on to claim the set, 30-28, and even the match, 1-1. Turner had eight kills on 16 swings in set No. 2, while Tadder put down all six balls set her direction. UVA posted 23 kills on 44 swings with just four attack errors to hit .432 in the second. Easton posted a dozen of her team-leading 35 total assists in set No. 2.
- After grinding out a win in the second, the Cavaliers could not find their rhythm in the third. Virginia registered just three kills and hit -.208 in set No. 3. The Cavaliers trailed for the entirety of the third after FSU jumped out to a 4-0 run and compounded two more runs of at least four unanswered points later in the set. FSU closed out the third with ease, 25-11, and took a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth.
- Virginia led for the majority of set No. 4, but a 3-1 Seminoles’ run shrank the UVA lead to 20-18 after the Hoos had led by as many as eight (18-10). Then, the Cavaliers scored four unanswered to gain set point, 24-18, but FSU responded with a 4-0 run of its own to cut…