ATHENS, W.VA — With the best start in the program's NCAA Division II history, the UVA Wise Cavaliers marched by the Bluefield State Big Blue and the Salem Tigers in a clean two-match sweep in the 2022 Concord Classic on Thursday, Sep. 1 by scores of 3-1 (25-19, 18-25, 25-20, 25-23) and 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-22).
The Bluefield State Big Blue (1-2, 0-0 DII IND.) looked to get revenge on UVA Wise ( 3-0, 0-0 SAC) after their 3-0 loss just last Saturday, but the Cavaliers had other plans.
The Big Blue went on an early 5-1 run in the first set, with Jordan Duncan adding in two slams while teammate Kateryna Dashevska threw in two kills and a service ace of her own. UVA Wise gained momentum quickly with the Cavalier veteran trio of Kaylee Scarce, Cassidy Farley, and Adison Minor each producing a kill to get back within reach of Bluefield State.
Although Bluefield State trailed on Cavalier heels, UVA Wise ran away on an eight-point run led by newcomer Bailey Conner to seal a 25-19 win.
The Cavaliers struggled with communication on the court in the second set, giving way for Bluefield State to finally secure an early set win under Allyson Martin and BriShaela McHaney's five-kill wing. The Big Blue took home set two by a score of 25-18.
In the third set, the Cavs regained their dominance with an early nine-point unanswered run — with six points from Big Blue miscues. UVA Wise found themselves at a 16-5 lead before Bluefield's Duncan produced her first kill of the set. Duncan's efforts were too late, and the Cavaliers took set three by a score of 25-20.
In the final set, Bluefield was determined to stay alive as they held a 17-10 lead by the efforts of frontrunners Duncan and Martin. From there, the Big Blue flubbed four consecutive points for the Cavs to put them within two. In nail-biting final minutes, The Cavaliers held on to a 25-23 win secured by Conner to take the match.
Sophomore Scarce outdid her own career-high performance last week against the Big Blue with a leading 14 kills in the 3-1 win. Lily Gutierrez added a team-high 14 assists in the mix.
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In the second match, the Cavs put on a triumphant 3-0 win performance against the Salem Tigers (0-8, 0-0 DII IND) with a clean-cut defensive outing from sophomore Cana Davidson, who dug out a game-high 14.
With a swift first two sets from the Cavs (25-11, 25-18), Salem seemed to kick their squad into gear in the third set when a Cavs error encouraged a four-point Salem run to put the score at 16-14. The Tigers found their first lead of the set when Savannah Wood and Liliana McColpin put up a block to get the score to 19-18.
With help from upperclassmen Minor and Farley, the Cavs rounded off the day with a 25-22 third-set win.
Scarce and Gutierrez led once again in the kills (10) and assist (19) categories.
"We were really happy to see how well we worked well together no matter who was on the court," Head Coach Alyssa Hanley said. "The energy and effort were there and helped carry us through the match to come out 2-0 on the day."
Next up, the Cavs round out the 2022 Concord Classic with a match against host institution Concord on Friday, Sep. 2 at 3:00 PM.
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