Virginia women’s volleyball lost to Virginia Tech in straight sets (26-24, 25-15, 25-21) on Friday evening in Blacksburg. The match served as the latest installment of the Commonwealth Clash between the two in-state rivals.
The Cavaliers trailed early in the match 2-6 before mounting a comeback ultimately leading to a 24-24 tie late in the first set. Two straight kills from Virginia Tech’s Amanda McKinzie and Jaila Tolbert gave the first set to the Hokies.
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, the resiliency they showed in the first set did not transfer well to the second set. The Hokies snuffed out any and all of the Cavaliers’ momentum-changing runs, managing both 6-0 and 4-0 runs themselves throughout the set. Virginia dropped the second set, 25-15.
In the third set, the Cavaliers once again found themselves in a close contest. A kill by Virginia’s Jasmine Burton midway through the period knotted both sides up at 15-15. Despite having a 15-14 kill advantage during the set, the Cavaliers could not stop the Hokies, losing 3-0.
Following the match, Virginia head coach Dennis Hohenshelt noted significant room for improvement for his team:
“When everything is going our way we want to compete, but when it is not we become laid back and we cannot afford to play that way. A really good coach once told me, if everyone could do one thing better we are going to win these matches so that is what we are going to do.”
The loss on Friday drops the Cavaliers to 1-3 in its last four matches against the Hokies. Virginia will look to rebound against Pitt on Sunday at 1 p.m.
