WISE, Va. - The Cavalier volleyball team competed in the final day of the 2023 Cavalier Classic Saturday. UVA Wise took down the Davis & Elkins Senators and Johnson C. State Golden Bulls for its final two matches of the non conference tournament.

In match one, UVA Wise dominated Davis & Elkins in three sets 25-11, 25-18 and 25-18. Sophomore outside hitter Morgan Blankenship picked up right where she left off after setting a career high in kills with 14 against Lees McRae College on Thursday. Blankenship fired off seven kills in just nine attempts in the first set to lead UVA Wise in scoring and lift them to a dominating win.

Set two was headlined by the other "Morgan" on UVA Wise's roster, junior outside hitter Morgan Blevins, who had three of her eight total kills in the midst of a four-point run for the Cavs.

Blevins and the entire UVA Wise offense were helped almost entirely by sophomore setter Piper Suddeth and junior setter Lily Gutierrez. Suddeth finished the match with 12 assists, a solid performance to back up her career mark of 20 which she earned on Thursday in the match against Concord. 

It was more of the same for Gutierrez against Davis & Elkins as the Houston, Tex. native has been outstanding for the entire tournament. She racked up 18 assists, three digs and four kills including the dagger to win the third set and match. 

Gutierrez utilized the sneaky strategy of dumping the ball over the net into the middle of the open Senator defense. Appearing like she was going to set the ball for an outside hitter, Gutierrez instead lifted it over the net when no one was expecting it to score for UVA Wise. Three of her four kills would come that way. 

Freshman defensive specialist Abigail Curtis shined on the back line for the Cavs. She led the team with 14 digs, a new career high in her short three-match career. Curtis has reached double-figure digs in each of the first three matches of her career. She's a scrappy player for the red and black who is not afraid to put her body on the line to save a ball and possible point. 

In their second match of the day, the Cavaliers dominated the Golden Bulls in straight sets 25-23, 25-13 and 25-20. 

Kaylee Scarce went off for her third double-double of the season with 17 kills and 11 digs while hitting .297 percent in 37 attack attempts. Scarce has now had a double-double in every match this season since the opener. 

Despite Scarce's strong play, UVA Wise still had to survive a scare from JCSU. The Golden Bulls' unconventional style of play caught the Cavs off guard and the first set was a back and forth battle all the way to the end. After another Scarce kill, Suddeth subbed onto the floor with set point in hand. She fired a serve to the back row in a tough spot and forced junior libero Monique Reid into a serve receive error to win the set. 

After surviving the opening set, UVA Wise never looked back. Senior middle hitter Cassidy Farley rallied for three blocks including a solo all during one point to capitalize on some momentum for the Cavs. Suddeth and sophomore libero Kamryn Livingston combined for 28 total digs in the final match as UVA Wise pulled away in the end. 

The Cavs start the season 3-1 for the second consecutive year as they get ready to head on the road and begin SAC play with an away match at Tusculum on Tuesday, Sep. 5 at 7:00 p.m.