CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia Volleyball team (10-16, 3-13) fell to the Duke Blue Devils (18-12, 9-7 ACC) in three sets (25-23, 29-27, 25-14) on Friday night (Nov. 17) at Memorial Gymnasium.
Set 1: Duke 25, Virginia 23
After a tightly contested battle between the two sides to start the opening set, Virginia took a 21-19 lead over Duke after sparking a 9-2 run, which featured four straight kills from Abby Tadder. The Blue Devils answered by scoring six of the final eight points of the period to claim set No. 1. Ciera Hecht tallied five kills in the set.
Set 2: Duke 29, Virginia 27
Set No. 2 featured a similar tug-of-war in the starting moments before Duke began to build up a 17-13 lead. The Cavaliers responded with a 7-1 scoring run to take another late lead, this time 19-18. The two sides traded blows with each other before UVA took a 26-25 lead for set point, but the Blue Devils countered with a 4-1 burst of scoring down the stretch.
Set 3: Duke 25, Virginia 14
Duke opened up to a commanding 7-1 run to open the third frame before going on a run of eight unanswered points to take an 18-5 advantage. The Cavaliers attempted to crawl back within the game, sparking a 7-1 run of their own, but the deficit was too large for the Hoos to close.
FROM HEAD COACH SHANNON WELLS
“First of all, what an amazing crowd to have here. It was such an awesome environment to play in front of. To be able to challenge a great team like Duke in the first two sets was really exciting and we felt like we were just a couple points away. I think that third set is not a reflection of who we are, but there’s a lot of stuff to work on. We’ll get back in the gym this week and get a lot better. What an exciting match for us and kudos to the crowd in here. I hope to see them back on Wednesday.”
MATCH NOTES
- Friday’s attendance was 1,018, the largest crowd at Mem Gym this year.
- Virginia honored its six seniors, including GG Carvacho, Ciera Hecht, Madison Morey, Regan Trueblood, Chloe Wilson and Veresia Yon.
- Brooklyn Borum’s sixth dig of the match marked the 500th of her career.
- Veresia Yon led all players in blocks with 6.0.
UP NEXT
Virginia rounds out its 2023 home slate on Wednesday, Nov. 22 against NC State (21-7, 11-6 ACC). First serve from Mem Gym is set for 7 p.m.