The Shadow
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (VR) – A 17-kill performance by Reese Wuebker helped Virginia open its three-game homestand with a 3-1 victory over George Washington at the Aquatic & Fitness Center on Tuesday
Wuebker, a third-year transfer from Ohio State, hit an efficient .484 while committing just two errors for the Cavaliers (4-3, 0-0 ACC). Rightside hitter Lauryn Bowie also contributed 10 kills for the Hoos while George Washington (4-6, 0-0 Atlantic 10) was led by outside hitter Cayla Cogan with 14 kills and rightside hitter Alexis Badu with 10 kills.)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1: Virginia 25, George Washington 23
George Washington came out strong with a 7-3 early lead, but a 6-0 run in the middle of the set gave the Hoos the momentum. Virginia trailed 16-13 before the rally that featured a Bowie kill, two Wuebker kills and an Emily Fowler kill. The Revolutionaries evened it late at 23-23, but a service error and an attack error gave Virginia the final two points.
Set 2: George Washington 25, Virginia 13
GWU never trailed in the second set after getting off to an 8-2 start. Virginia trimmed the lead to 15-10 but the Revolutionaries tallied 10 of the final 13 points to even the match.
Set 3: Virginia 25, George Washington 17
Virginia maintained a slight 10-8 edge early on and slowly expanded its lead to 15-11 and 21-14 with a pair of 3-0 runs. The Hoos closed the set with a kill by Caroline Lang
Set 4: Virginia 25, George Washington 21
GWU got off to an early 6-4 lead and the Hoos flipped it with a 4-0 run. The Revolutionaries responded right back with a 4-0 run of their own to go ahead 10-8. Virginia tied it at 13-13 and the teams remained even at 14-14, 15-15, 16-16 and 17-17 before Virginia raced out to a 21-17 lead by taking advantage of a trio of GWU errors and a Wuebker kill. The Hoos remained in front, and sealed the match on a block from Reagan Ennist and Lang.
MATCH NOTES
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Virginia moves to 8-10 in the all-time series with GWU, though the Cavaliers have now won each of the last three matchups.
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The 53 kills from the Virginia offense matched its season high. It was the Cavaliers’ third match with 53 kills this season.
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Reese Wuebker’s 17 kills were one shy of her season high of 18, which came in the season opener against America.
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Emily Fowler’s eight kills were a season high.
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Setter Hannah Scott’s 33 assists were a season high.
QUOTABLE
“Kudos to George Washington. I thought they came in and hit balls at us really hard and made us work. They’re a really improved team, even from last weekend, so kudos to them. They should have a really good season this year. I think for us, we’ve been trying to figure out ways to win after 20. To win the first set 25-23, the final set was 19-18 and we win 25-21 – that’s what we’re looking for. We’ve been struggling in that situation. To see our team respond and find different ways to score points was a really big moment for us.” – head coach Shannon Wells.
NEXT UP
Virginia wraps up its non-conference slate this weekend with a pair of matches against Ohio State at the Aquatic & Fitness Center. The Cavaliers host the Buckeyes at 6 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday.
