The Shadow
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (VR) — Virginia battled back after dropping the first two sets but came up short against Miami on Friday night at John Paul Jones Arena, falling 3-1 in ACC volleyball action.
The Cavaliers (6-14, 2-9 ACC) dropped the opening sets 25-14 and 25-20 before responding with a 25-15 victory in the third. Miami (10-10, 8-3 ACC) held off Virginia in a tightly contested fourth set, 26-24, to secure the win.
Reese Wuebker led Virginia with 17 kills while hitting .349, her best percentage in ACC play this season. Emily Fowler added nine kills on 12 attempts without an error, finishing with a career-best .750 hitting percentage.
Miami was led by Asia Harvey with a match-high 20 kills. Ruth Martinez finished with 15, while Sonja Danilovic added 10.
The Hurricanes controlled the opening set, jumping ahead 6-1 and never trailing. Miami carried that momentum into the second, building a 20-10 advantage before Virginia rallied late. The Cavaliers trimmed the deficit to 24-20, but Miami closed out the set to take a 2-0 match lead.
Virginia responded in the third, using a pair of four-point runs to pull away after Miami cut the lead to 10-9. The Cavaliers built a 21-12 advantage before closing out the set 25-15.
The fourth set remained close throughout, with neither team leading by more than two points after Miami tied the score at 8-8. Virginia fought back to even the score at 24-24 on a block by Wuebker and Caroline Lang, but consecutive kills by Harvey and Arian Rodriguez sealed the victory for Miami.
Zoey Dood matched her season high with 16 assists despite sitting out the opening set.
Virginia head coach Shannon Wells praised her team’s effort despite the loss.
“More than anything, I loved the fight that we had,” Wells said.
