WISE – The UVA Wise volleyball bested Bluefield State 3-0 and fell to Lees-McRae 3-1 in the final day of the Cavalier Classic, which was held on the Quillen Court in the David J. Prior Convocation Center Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
The win over Bluefield State tied the record for the best start of the modern era of Highland Cavalier Volleyball at 3-0. They tied the 3-0 start of the 2022 season. The 1969 team opened up with a 3-0 record and the 1970 squad went 5-0 to open the season but matches before 1977 were of a best two out of three format compared to the best three of five format used starting in 1977.
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS
Final Match One: UVA Wise 3, Bluefield State 0
Final Match Two: Lees-McRae 3, UVA Wise 1
Records: UVA Wise (3-1), Lees-McRae (3-0), Bluefield State (1-2)
Location: Wise, VA | The Quillen Court at the David J. Prior Convocation Center
VS. BLUEFIELD STATE
- The Cavs improved to 13-4 all-time vs. the Big Blue.
- BSU took the early lead before the Cavs tied the match at 11-11.
- The Big Blue took a late 22-19 lead before a
Kaylee Scarce kill gave UVA Wise the 23-22 lead. Bluefield State tied the match again and grabbed a 25-24 lead before the Cavs rolled off three straight points to take the set 27-25.
- The Cavs pulled ahead after a close start in the second set to claim the 25-21 win.
- The third set opened with an 8-0 run by UVA Wise and the Cavs would lead by as much as 12 as they took the set 25-14 to claim the match victory.
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Kaylee Scarce led UVA Wise with an impressive 16 kills to go along with a team high seven digs, while
Serina Petersen added in eight kills.
Lily Gutierrez had 22 assists, and
Piper Suddeth added in 14.
- Callesta Styles led BSU with eight kills, while Kaileigh Solis chipped in 12 digs.
VS. LEES-MCRAE
- The Cavs and Bobcats went toe to toe most of the match, but the Bobcats prevailed to finish the Cavalier Classic with a 3-0 record while handing the Cavs their first loss of the season.
- The first set was a back-and-forth affair with several ties before UVA Wise pulled away for the 25-21 win.
- Set two also had several ties and lead changes with the Cavs pulling out to a 23-16 lead. Then the Bobcats took advantage of several overpasses to get UVA Wise out of their system and outscore the Cavs 10-1 down the stretch to take the 26-24 win.
- Lees-McRae then rode the momentum of their second-set comeback to capture the 25-12 win in the third set.
- The Bobcats took the early lead before the Cavs tied it at 10-10 in the fourth set. They would then go on a couple of runs to pull out for the 25-19 win.
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Riley Brandon led the Cavs with eight kills.
Abigail Curtis had 21 digs in this match, and Suddeth dished out 16 assists.
- Sydney Stigler had 12 kills to lead the Bobcats, while Brooke Ashkenase had 20 digs and Ella Young had 19 assists.
GETTING WISE
- After compiling 45 kills (3.45 kills per set) for the week,
Kaylee Scarce leads the SAC in kills and kills per set.
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Abigail Curtis also leads the SAC with her 74 digs (5.69 digs per set) in digs and digs per set.
UP NEXT
The Cavs will make the long trek to the Sunshine State as they play in the Saint Leo Fall Volleyball Classic next weekend, They will face St. Michael's at 11:00 a.m. and Valdosta State at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, and St. Edwards at 9:00 a.m. and Saint Leo at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.
