Wise, Va. - Behind a match-high 33 digs from Ana Calaza Union College held off a late UVa-Wise rally to score a 3-2 victory at the David J Prior Center on Thursday. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead as they won set one 25-17 before winning set two 25-22. The Cavaliers would win the next two sets by scores of 27-25 and 25-23 only to see the visitors win set five 15-10 to claim the non-conference victory.

The UVa-Wise rally came when Union appeared to have the match in hand. The Bulldogs led 24-20 in the third set only to see the lead slip away as the Cavs posted a 27-25 set victory.  

The Cavaliers continued the momentum from the third set by taking an early 4-1 lead in set four. Union would not go down without a fight in the set, however, the Bulldogs tied the set at 11 before eventually taking a 20-19 lead. UVa-Wise and Union would trade points to reach a 23-23 tie. Before back-to-back attack errors by the guests allowed UVa-Wise to tie the match at two sets apiece.

The final set of the match saw Union lead wire-to-wire. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-1 lead on a pair of kills by Marissa Elam. Another Elam kill would give the Bulldogs a 10-6 lead mid-way through the set. UVa-Wise would get as close as three points on a Lindsey Tucker kill to cut the deficit to 12-9. It would be as close as the Cavs would get as the Bulldogs scored three of the final four points of the match to post the victory.

Karley Allen finished with a match-high 18 kills and added 20 digs in the loss. Tucker added 12 kills, while Ashley Hooven handed out 29 assists and Brittni Altmann collected 29 digs for UVa-Wise.

Elam led Union with 16 kills and the duo of Chandler Gray and Heather Fields combined for 38 assists. It was the fourth consecutive victory for the Bulldogs who are in the midst of a six-match road trip.

The Cavs will return to the David J Prior Center to play on Tuesday when the team plays Virginia Union at 6 pm.