GAFFNEY, S.C. – UVA Wise Women's volleyball took on Limestone Friday night in its final road match of the 2023 season. The Cavs fell in three sets to the Saints, 25-12, 25-21 and 25-18.
The opening set did not go how UVA Wise had hoped. Midway through the set, the Cavs were down just one point at 13-12. At this point, four different Cavaliers had already recorded two kills.
A recurring issue for UVA Wise this season has been allowing prolonged scoring runs to its opponents. The end of the first set was perhaps the epitome of that struggle.
An attacking error from Kaylee Scarce made it 14-12 in favor of Limestone. The Saints would never look back after that, scoring 12 points in a row to win the first set, 25-12.
The second set was better but still unsuccessful for UVA Wise. Limestone was consistently in control of the set with a lead that ranged anywhere from 3-6 points at a given moment.
Offense was a struggle on the night for the Cavs. UVA Wise particularly missed Scarce who was coming off a career-high 23 kills in her last match against Emory & Henry. Friday night was a different story.
Limestone was able to limit Scarce to just three kills through the first two sets. In fact, UVA Wise only had one player with more than five kills in the first two sets as freshman outside hitter Riley Brandon led the way with six.
The third set saw the Cavs fall behind in the middle stages again. Trailing 14-12, the Cavs surrendered three consecutive points and fell behind by five points before head coach Alyssa Hanley called timeout.
The Cavs would get outscored 8-6 after the timeout and lose the third set 25-18 and thus the match.
The Saints were led by sophomore outside hitter Mia McMillen with nine kills on an impressive 18 swings for a .444 hitting percentage. Senior middle blocker Kaitlyn Thompson had arguably the best night of any player, finishing with six kills on nine swings while adding three-and-a-half blocks on defense.
Brandon finished the night with seven kills to pace UVA Wise on offense. On defense, it was junior middle hitter Lauren Montes who led the charge for the Cavs with two blocks.
The win was a big one for Limestone, improving them to 10-10 on the season and 7-9 in the SAC. Limestone entered the night in seventh place, hoping to create some breathing room as one of the top eight teams in the conference that will make the postseason.
The Saints did that with a win and additionally got some help from Wingate as the Bulldogs took down Mars Hill who sits one spot ahead of Limestone in the standings.
With the loss, the Cavs fell to 9-14 overall and 2-13 in the SAC. UVA Wise can look forward to home stand of sorts, as the Cavs will return home for the final three matches of the regular season, beginning with Lincoln Memorial on Monday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.
