WISE – The UVA Wise volleyball team blocked all the Wasp comeback attempts and swept both the match and the season series against archrival Emory & Henry Tuesday evening on the Quillen Court, winning 25-22, 26-24, 25-18.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result: UVA Wise 3, Emory & Henry 0
Records: UVA Wise (); Emory & Henry ()
Location: Wise, VA | The Quillen Court in the David J. Prior Convocation Center
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first set began with Emory & Henry taking an early lead, thanks to two consecutive kills by Haley Harnichar. UVA Wise responded with a kill from
Morgan Blankenship, but the Wasps extended their advantage to 9-3, aided by a service ace from Taylor Kelly. The Cavaliers mounted a four point comeback, leveling the score at 13-13, highlighted by a kill from
Mia Bradley and a block by
Mable James and
August Betz. The teams continued to exchange points, but a service ace by
Riley Brandon brought UVA Wise to set point. The set concluded with a 25-22 victory for UVA Wise after Tori Boling's attack error sealed the outcome.
- The Cavs then edged out Emory & Henry in a closely contested second set, 26-24. The set was marked by a series of point exchanges to the tune of 16 ties and six lead changes, with UVA Wise maintaining a slight edge. The Wasps rallied back from two set points down to tie the match at 24-24.
Annabelle Dowell contributing multiple kills in the set, including the decisive point at 25-24. James also played a crucial role, securing several points with her defensive blocks and one notable block to end the set at 26-24.
- UVA Wise then secured a 25-18 third-set and match victory against Emory & Henry, once again seeing the teams open by trading points. After the score was tied at 10-10, kills by Blankenship and Dowell along with service error by the Wasps and a kill from Betz pushed the Cavs ahead 14-10. From that point the Cavs slowly pulled away, closing out the set with a powerful kill by Bradley.
GETTING WISE
- Dowell recorded a career high nine kills with a hitting percentage of .643 while also contributing six total blocks, tying her career high.
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Abigail Curtis excelled defensively, posting 15 digs and adding three assists. She finished the match with 1,199 career digs and needs four more to tie fifth place Cara Hamilton (2004-07) on the career digs list.
- James added eight kills with a .467 hitting percentage and led the team with seven total blocks, tying her career high.
- Betz contributed five block assists, rounding out a strong defensive performance for the Cavaliers.
- The thirteen team blocks tie for the second-most this season with the match against Charleston. They had 14 against Slippery Rock on Sept. 5.
UP NEXT
The team will hit the road for the next two games before returning home for the final time this season. First up is the second meeting of the season against Newberry on Friday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. in Newberry, South Carolina.
