BLACKSBURG, Va. – For the second year in a row, Virginia (11-11, 3-8 ACC) and Virginia Tech (9-13, 2-9 ACC) required extra points in the fifth set to decide a winner, but this time it was the Cavaliers who were victorious in Commonwealth Clash, presented by Smithfield. Virginia defeated the Hokies, 21-25, 25-23, 25-22, 27-29, 16-14, at Cassell Coliseum Friday night (Oct. 28), marking the second year in a row the winner was determined in the fifth by a score of 16-14.
With the win, the Cavaliers tacked on 0.5 points in the 2022 Commonwealth Clash standings to extend their lead to 4.0 to 0.5.
Virginia was led by Grace Turner (23 kills, 14 digs), who took a season-high 57 swings and recorded her ninth career double-double. The Cavaliers also received a nice boost from Simone Dominique, who came off the bench to post a career-best 13 kills on 34 swings, hit .235 and registered six digs. Middle blockers Abby Tadder and Veresia Yon both notched 11 kills each, as did right side hitter Mary Shaffer. Yon led all Cavalier front row hitters with a hitting clip of .409. Setter Gabby Easton dished out 49 assists, her best in a UVA uniform and most by a Cavalier in a single match since 2018.
Set 1: Virginia Tech 25, Virginia 21
After Virginia won the first five points of the match, the Hokies clawed their way back to take their first lead of the set at 17-16. From the point forward, the Cavaliers only came up with two kills for the remainder of the set, which Virginia Tech won, 25-21. Yon posted four of her 11 total kills in the opening frame and Shaffer contributed three block assists.
Set 2: Virginia 25, Virginia Tech 23
Once again, the Cavaliers jumped out to another big lead – this time 11-3 – to open the second. A 9-1 run by the Hokies gave Virginia Tech its first lead of the set, 14-13, before UVA capped the run with four unanswered scores of its own. The set would see eight tied scores and five lead changes, including up until the very end. The Cavaliers closed out game No. 2 by registering kills on the final three plays, including back-to-back terminations by Dominique, to win by two. Dominique finished with three kills in the set, while Turner led all players with five kills and five digs in the second.
Set 3: Virginia 25, Virginia Tech 22
Coming out of the break, Virginia tallied five straight points to gain a 10-5 advantage early in the third. The Hokies trailed for most of the frame up until they tied the set, 20-20, but the Cavaliers’…