WISE -- UVA Wise defeated picked up a key South Atlantic Conference win over Newberry 3-0 on Friday in the David J. Prior Convocation Center. The Cavaliers won all three sets by two points in the volleyball equivalent of overtime, taking them 26-24, 27-25 and 28-26 while finishing with 49 kills and 74 digs.
It was also Senior Night for
Serina Petersen,
Abigail Curtis,
Riley Brandon,
Braelynn Williams, and
Madilyn Pardue.
With the win, the Cavs are assured no worse than a seventh seed in the upcoming South Atlantic Conference Tournament with one regular season match remaining. It will be a program-record third straight appearance in the SAC Tournament.
The match also marked the start of a new era for the team and the school. 5,529 days (or 15 years, one month and 20 days) ago, the Prior Center opened with a volleyball match against Millgan. Kendall Rainey was the coach that day, Earlier today she was back on the court in her capacity as Athletic Director dedicating the new Pat and Joe Stallard Scoreboard, which was used for the first time in tonight's match, the program's 180th in the facility. The scoreboard is a state-of-the-art four panel LED scoreboard which can not only display the time and score, but also live action video and graphics in 4K resolution in addition to stats and other information for all types of events both inside and outside of athletics.
The scoreboard is a gift of the Stallard family in honor of longtime educator Joe Stallard and his wife Pat, who both dedicated their lives to public service. Joe, a native of the region, graduated from nearby John I. Burton High School in Norton and played collegiately at Tusculum College (where he is a charter member of their Athletics Hall of Fame) before coming to Wise to teach at then-Clinch Valley College. He also coached the college's basketball team from 1968-72 and when he left coaching in 1972 was the program's winningest coach. After his passing, his wife Pat set up funding to help finance a new scoreboard in his honor. Stallard was the men's coach when the women's basketball and volleyball teams were both started at Clinch Valley, and almost certainly aided Coaches Doris Kilgore and Judy Giolitto with creating and building both of those programs.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result: UVA Wise 3, Newberry 0
Records: UVA Wise (14-12, 12-9 SAC); Newberry (14-14, 7-14 SAC)
Location: Wise. VA | David J. Prior Convocation Center
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
UVA Wise moved from a 4-4 tie to a 10-6 lead in the first set, with
Skye Williams recording a kill and a service ace before
Braelynn Williams,
August Betz and
Riley Brandon added kills.
Serina Petersen and Brandon helped keep the Highland Cavaliers in front through the middle of the set, and a
Maggy Sechrist kill plus a Betz-Petersen block on Anna Schneider pushed the lead to 18-13. Newberry cut the margin to 20-19 on kills by Evie Paalman and Taylor Blandford, then tied the set at 23-23 after a Cavaliers setting error and a block by Carole Ann Hussey and Blandford.
Olivia Amos put the Cavs back ahead with a kill for 24-23, and after the Wolves tied it at 24-24, the Cavaliers closed the set 26-24 on a Newberry service error and another Betz-Petersen block on Schneider.
Second Set
After the Wolves moved ahead 5-3 in the second set, the Cavaliers scored five of the next six points, getting a kill from
Braelynn Williams, two Newberry attack errors, a Newberry setting error and a Sechrist kill to take an 8-6 lead. The Highland Cavaliers later pushed the margin to 14-10 on a
Serina Petersen kill before the Wolves tied the set at 14-14, then Newberry moved in front 18-15 on a Taylor Blandford-Carole Ann Hussey block. The Cavs came back to tie it at 19-19 behind an
August Betz kill, a
Mia Poag ace and back-to-back Sechrist kills, and later took a 23-21 lead on kills from
Riley Brandon and Poag. Newberry answered with three straight points for a 24-23 edge, but Brandon's kill tied the set,
Libby Nickels followed with an ace, and after an Evie Paalman kill tied it again at 25-25, a Newberry service error and
Madilyn Pardue's ace finished the Cavaliers' 27-25 set win.
Third Set
After Newberry moved in front 6-5, the Cavaliers worked back ahead behind kills by
August Betz,
Serina Petersen and Sechrist and two Newberry setting errors, reaching an 11-7 lead. Newberry later scored five consecutive points to turn a 14-12 UVA Wise lead into a 17-14 deficit, then moved ahead 21-17 on a Lexi Duplessis kill. Sechrist put down a kill and served an ace during a four-point Cavs run that tied the set at 21-21, and after Newberry went back ahead,
Riley Brandon's kill and a
Mable James block-assisted point put the Highland Cavaliers up 23-22. After Newberry moved ahead 25-24,
Skye Williams tied it with a kill, Amos and James combined on blocks at 26-25 and 27-26, and a Newberry attack error finished the Cavaliers' 28-26 set win and gave UVA Wise the match victory.
GETTING WISE
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Riley Brandon led the Cavaliers with 12 kills and added two block assists.
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Serina Petersen finished with 11 kills on 15 attacks with no errors, hit .733 and recorded five total blocks.
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Maggy Sechrist had 11 kills and 14 digs.
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Abigail Curtis collected 26 digs and added five assists.
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Olivia Amos posted 22 assists, eight digs and two block assists.
- The win marked the first time the Cavs have swept Newberry in a season. Newberry now leads the all-time series 8-4.
- This was the 180th match played by the Cavs in the Prior Center, and the 78th win.
UP NEXT
UVA Wise will close out the regular season when they host Anderson Saturday at 11 a.m. They will then turn their attention to the upcoming SAC Tournament, which starts next Tuesday at the Rock Hill Sports & Events Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
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