WISE – After being on the road for over two weeks, the UVA Wise volleyball team returned home for their SAC opener against Coker Friday evening. The Cavs and Cobras battled for four sets, but in the end, UVA Wise held on for the 3-1 victory.
This match was the second of three matches for the Highland Cavaliers this week.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result: UVA Wise 3, Coker 1
Records: UVA Wise (6-5, 1-2 SAC); Coker (3-7, 2-3 SAC)
Location: Wise, VA | Quillen Court at the David J. Prior Convocation Center
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Cavs never trailed as they shot out to a 4-1 start. Coker tied the match at 4-4 from a kill by Kailyn Ivy before a block by
Cassidy Farley and
Riley Brandon sparked a 5-1 run. Coker cut the lead to 18-15 but a kill by Brandon stopped their run and UVA Wise went on to win 25-17.
- UVA Wise kept up the intensity as they opened up the second set with an 8-1 run. As in the first set, Coker cut it to 18-15 before the Cavs pulled ahead to capture the set, 25-22.
- Serving from Coker's Maddy Roberts sparked the Cobras in the third set as her serving helped carry them out to a 7-0 start. The Cavs were unable to get any closer than four points for the rest of the set as Coker claimed the 25-18 win.
- Set four had 11 ties and seven lead changes before a pair of Cobra attack errors and a kill by
Dannah Persinger pulled UVA Wise ahead 20-17. They would then out-score Coker 5-1 down the stretch for the 25-18 win in the set and the 3-1 victory in the match.
GETTING WISE
- Four Cavalier players had double-digit kills and a fifth had nine, led by
Serina Petersen with 15 kills.
- Brandon had her second triple-double in three matches with 10 kills, 18 assists, 15 digs, and five blocks.
- Four other Cavs had double-doubles –
Kaylee Scarce had 12 kills and 17 digs,
Piper Suddeth had 29 assists and 10 digs, and
Abigail Curtis 10 assists and 28 digs, and Farley had 10 kills and a match-high 11 blocks.
- Farley's 11 blocks tied the 281 set by Santana Bishop from 2013-16. That makes her tied for the most blocks in the program's NCAA Era (2012-present). Bishop and Farley are currently tied for fifth-place on the career list, which dates back to 2001.
- The team hit .193 for the match, had 56 assists to 45 by Coker, had an 89-84 advantage in digs, and out-blocked the Cobras 29-18.
COBRA BITES
- Cayla Gilmore led the Cobras with 13 kills. Alyssa Carey chipped in nine.
- Maddy Roberts had 21 assists, and Laila Hixon added in 16.
- Meadow Morse led Coker in digs with 26, Hixon had 17, and Carey had 11.
UP NEXT
The Cavs have a quick turnaround as they will travel to face Carson-Newman in Jefferson City, Tennessee, tomorrow at 2 p.m. The Eagles played at Tusculum tonight and edged the Pioneers 3-2 in that long-time local rivalry.
