On another road trip weekend, UVA fell to Louisville and Notre Dame 3-0 in both matches. The Hoos are now 8-12 overall and 1-9 in ACC play.
On October 22nd, UVA lost to #2 Louisville 15-25, 13-25, and 16-25. Louisville is currently undefeated with a record of 19-0 overall and 9-0 in the ACC, so the Cardinals are impressive on a national level this year.
In set one, Louisville went on a 7-0 run to extend its lead to 16-6. UVA’s Abby Tadder contributed three blocks in the set, which helped hold the Louisville hitters to a .292 hitting percentage, the lowest of the three sets.
Louisville dominated the second and third sets when it came to hitting percentage, hitting .450 and .609 compared to UVA’s -0.037 and 0.087. The Cardinals registered just four total errors in the last two sets, and UVA was only able to earn five blocks overall.
Louisville’s versatile offense proved to be too much for the Hoos, as four players had seven or more kills in the contest.
Grace Turner led UVA with five kills, but it was a tough offensive night overall as the Hoos hit just 0.015 with 23 kills and 22 errors. Abby Tadder finished with four blocks on the night.
On October 24th, UVA couldn’t keep up with Notre Dame (9-11, 6-4 ACC) and fell 13-25, 13-25, and 22-25.
Notre Dame got off to a quick start in set one, using a 7-0 run to pull ahead 9-2. A 4-0 run later in the set gave the Fighting Irish a 21-9 lead, and the team was able to cruise to a victory from there.
Set two looked similar, with Notre Dame pulling ahead 10-4 early and adding to the lead to make it 22-11. Charley Niego was serving during a 7-0 run and she also added four kills in the set to pace the team.
In the final set, UVA was able to keep pace with Notre Dame using seven kills by Jayna Francis. The Hoos held a 22-21 lead until Notre Dame turned it on at the end to win 25-22 with two kills and two errors committed by UVA.
Jayna Francis finished with eight total kills, Grace Turner added seven kills and ten digs, and Alana Walker had five kills and five blocks for UVA.
Charley Niego filled the stat sheet with 11 kills, two aces, three blocks, one assist, and five digs to lead the Fighting Irish, and setter Zoe Nunez added 21 assists and 12 digs for a double-double. Lauren Tarnoff also had 10 blocks.
After an 0-4 road trip, the Cavaliers will return to Charlottesville for the Commonwealth Clash, taking on rival Virginia Tech on October 29th.
