CHAROTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia volleyball team (15-10, 10-6 ACC) was defeated by Georgia Tech Sunday 3-2 at Memorial Gymnasium. Game scores were 30-15, 27-30, 30-26, 22-30 and 6-15.
UVa’s hard-fought loss to the Yellow Jackets marked the seventh time the Cavaliers have played five games this season. Virginia is 2-5 in those games.
Coming into the match, Georgia Tech and Virginia were tied for third place in the ACC with identical records in conference play. The win put the Yellow Jackets in third place while UVa is fourth in the conference standings.
Fourth year Katie Oakes led the offensive attack with 18 kills, while Sarah Kirkwood and Kendahl Voelker tallied 16 apeice. Oakes finished with a .424 hitting percentage with just four errors in 33 attempts. Setters Kelly Irvin and Marlow Bruneau finished with 32 and 23 assists, respectively.
Defensively, five Cavaliers tallied double figure digs, led by Melissa Caldwell’s 17. Kirkwood and Beth Shelton finished with 14 apiece while Irvin added 11 and A.J. Cushman chipped in 10. Additionally, Bruneau recorded five blocks and Oakes finished with four.
The Cavaliers possessed the lead throughout the first game, winning 30-15 on a block by Oakes. Kirkwood recorded seven kills and a .500 hitting percentage to lead the Cavalier offense. Virginia hit .447 as a team, while the UVa defense held the Yellow Jackets to a .027 hitting percentage.
The Jackets outscored Virginia 30-27 in the second game to tie the match. Trailing 22-27, the Cavaliers scored five of the next six points to bring the game within one. However, the Jackets tallied three unanswered points, holding onto game two.
Trailing again 11-14 in game three, the Cavaliers went on a 7-3 run to ease ahead of the Jackets. The two teams proceeded to tie five times before Virginia was able to capitalize on six unanswered points led by the dominant serving of Kirkwood. In all, there were 12 tie scores and seven lead changes during the game.
Georgia Tech clinched game four 30-22 to yield a fifth and final game to decide the match winner. The Jackets held the lead for the majority of the contest and recorded four consecutive points to take the win.
Game five was dominated by the Yellow Jackets, who hit .435 in the fifth and deciding game. Georgia Tech led by as many was 10, 13-3, in the final game before winning by a 15-6 margin.
The first meeting of the season between Virginia and Georgia Tech also went five matches, with the Cavaliers earning the 3-2 win on the road.
For the match, Virginia finished with a .237 hitting percentage, recording 69 kills. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, finished with a .206 percentage and 71 kills.
Talisa Kellogg led Georgia Tech with a match-high 22 kills while Michelle Kandell paced the defense also with a match-high 32 digs.
Virginia travels to North Carolina State next Thursday (Nov. 8) for the first of four matches on the road. The Cavaliers and the Wolfpack will square off at 7 p.m. in Raleigh, N.C. The game will be broadcast by ACC Select and can be viewed at www.ACCSelect.com.
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Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com