WINGATE, NC – Saving the best for last may be a cliché, but that is exactly what the UVA Wise volleyball team did Tuesday evening in the South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Tournament Quarterfinals against top-seeded Wingate. The teams went toe-to-toe for three hard-fought sets before the Bulldogs escaped with the 3-0 win by set scores of 25-17, 26-24, 25-21.
The loss ends the season for the Highland Cavaliers, and with it the careers of
Cassidy Farley,
Kaylee Scarce,
Morgan Blevins,
Dannah Persinger,
Lily Gutierrez,
Lauren Montes.
Hannah McAmis, and
Charlee Hobbs. Scarce earned one more personal achievement on the way out as she surpassed the 1,000 career digs mark in the third set.
Wingate advances to the tournament semifinals, where they will face Mars Hill Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result: Wingate 3, UVA Wise 0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-21)
Records: UVA Wise (12-16), Wingate (26-2)
Location: Wingate, NC | Cuddy Arena
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Bulldogs went out to the 5-2 lead, only to see the Highland Cavaliers tie things up at 6-6. A Bulldog service error followed by an
Abigail Curtis ace gave the Cavs the 8-7 lead. Wingate then went on a 10-0 run. The Cavs chipped away at the lead, but were unable to get closer than six points as WU took the set 25-17.
- Wingate scored three quick points, but a pair of Scarce kills cut the lead to one. That set the tone for the next few minutes as the Cavs would cut the lead to one or two points only for the Bulldogs to score a couple of points to extend the lead. With the score at 11-7, the Cavs put together four straight points to tie the set at 11-11. Later, a Cavalier service error started a small run by Wingate to pull back out to four points. They would take a 20-17 lead, only to see kills by
Serina Petersen and
Riley Brandon and a block by Farley and Blevins that tied the set at 20-20. Another kill by Brandon then gave the Cavs their first lead of the set. The teams would essentially trade points for the next several rallies, tying the match at 23-23 and 24-24. A kill by Gabby Saye and a block by Saye and Emily Johnson pulled out the 26-24 win for the Bulldogs. Only two other teams this season have scored 24 points on the Bulldogs in a set at their place – Carson-Newman and Flagler.
- In spite of the loss in set two, the momentum was all UVA Wise's way to open the third set. The teams battled back and forth before WU went ahead 10-7. A Bulldog service error and a kill by Petersen cut the lead to 10-9. During that rally, Wingate's Elsa Lamphere tried to dump the ball along the length of the net for the kill. Scarce, who was on the front line at the other end of the net, turned and dug the ball over to Gutierrez to keep the rally going. That was the 1,000
th dig of her career. The Bulldogs eventually pulled ahead to 18-11 on six unanswered points, and the closest the Cavs would cut it down the stretch was to two points as the Bulldogs pulled out the 25-21 set three win and took the match.
- Emily Johnson led the Bulldogs with eleven kills, while Lorna Stacherski added in ten. Maya Van Heyst had a double-double with 23 assists and 13 digs while Lamphere led the team with 22 digs.
GETTING WISE
- Scarce had her 22
nd career double-double (eleventh this season) with 12 kills and 14 digs. She finishes her career with 862 kills and 1,004 digs. Brandon also had ten kills.
-
Piper Suddeth led the team with 18 assists, while Gutierrez had eleven to end her career with 1,070 at UVA Wise (1,261 including her freshman season at Emmanuel).
- Curtis had 20 digs to lead the Cavs, while Scarce (14),
Kamryn Livingston (13), and Suddeth (10) all had double-digit digs.
- In their final games as Cavaliers, Blevins had four kills and two digs to finish with 454 kills and 253 digs for her career; while Farley ended her five-season stint with four kills, two digs, and three blocks. Career-wise she finishes with 461 kills, 230 digs, and 367 total blocks.
- Scarce ends her career ranked seventh in kills, her 3,048 attacks are the sixth most in school history, and her 1,004 digs are eighth all-time. Farley ends her career with 107 solo blocks and 260 block assists for a combined 367 total blocks. Those rank her fourth, third, and fourth all-time.
- The 12-16 record this season is the best in the Coach
Alyssa Hanley era, and the 6-12 conference record is the best SAC record ever for the team. This also marked their first appearance in the SAC Tournament.
UP NEXT
The coaching staff will now hit the recruiting trail and will reload for the 2025 season, which will begin around the first of September.
