WISE - In a Tuesday night matchup against well-known rivals Emory & Henry and UVA Wise, UVA Wise was able to take the cake and win in a thrilling 3-2 victory (25-15, 21-25, 23-25, 25-19, 17-15).

The UVA Wise Cavaliers (4-11, 0-8 SAC) started out the first set in a powerful way, as the Cavs were able to grab 6 consecutive unanswered points led by a service ace from Rylee Waye. The Emory & Henry Wasps (6-10, 0-0 DII IND.) began their stride with a kill by Delainie Nagy and followed up with a service ace of their own. Although it looked like the Wasps had found their groove, all momentum was stopped as blocking powerhouses Cassidy Farley and Adison Minor shut down all Wasp kill attempts. The Wasps responded with two more Nagy kills, a Cavs error, and a service ace to find themselves ahead of the Cavs by one. The Cavs were able to take advantage of the Wasps' mistakes and go on a four-point run that started from two Wasp ball-handling errors. The Cavs went on two more four-point runs and kept the Wasps from stinging — the Cavs held on and won 25-15.

The second match brought a more passionate Wasps team, starting off with a kill by their very own Hannah Watson. The Cavs answered right back with a block by duo Farley and Minor and a service ace by Kaylee Scarce. Emory & Henry retaliated with back-to-back Watson kills and started a frame-by-frame point frenzy. It wasn't until the 18th point in the set that Emory & Henry mustered up the strength to pull away from the Cavs with a 5-point run led by Camden Jones kill. With a 22-18 score, the Cavs grabbed another three points from a Scarce kill, a Farley kill, and a Wasp freebie point — but it wasn't enough and the Wasps took the second set 25-21.

Coming off a win, the Wasps struck first yet again from a Carley Williams kill in the third set.  Farley responded with a monstrous kill to tie it up, and once again fans were greeted with a point-by-point battle against the Cavs and the Wasps. Near the end of the set, the Cavs gained a 4-point lead solidified by an attack error by Emory & Henry's Savanah Keesee. But this didn't halt the Wasps as they went on a six-point run to win their second set of the night.

In the fourth, the Cavs had to bring the heat. The Cavs started off with an easy three-point lead caused by Wasp attack errors, and were able to hold the lead for the remainder of the set due to killer performances from Minor, Kelsey Green, and Dannah Persinger. 

In the forced fifth set, all bets were off as Emory & Henry struck first with three points unanswered. Matelyn Gibson then secured a kill to give the Cavs the push they needed. Point by point, each team battled right through the set. It wasn't until the Cavs scored their 14th point that tensions began to rise and the Wasps scored the next four points to grab a lead. With the score 15-14, the Cavs shut down the Wasps in the final volleys of the game and exterminated the Wasps to send them home 17-15.

Green led the Cavs with eight kills on the night, followed by Zoe Avery with four aces, Waye with 21 assists, and Cana Davidson with 33 digs. Standout stats came from Farley and Minor, with Farley producing 12 blocks and Minor adding her own nine on the night. 

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