WISE – Finally playing at home for the first time this season after spending the first two weeks of the season on the road, UVA Wise dominated the first two sets before Coker rallied to force a fifth set. In the end the Highland Cavaliers defeated Coker 3-2 (25-20, 25-15, 20-25, 16-25, 15-12) Thursday evening in the David J. Prior Convocation Center.
The Cavaliers finished with 67 kills and 91 digs, while hitting .348 with 10 kills in the fifth set.
It was the first win at home for first-year head coach
Alexis Ivey and both the home opener and the South Atlantic Conference home opener. For Coker it was their first conference match.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result: UVA Wise 3, Coker 2
Records: UVA Wise (3-3, 2-1 SAC); Coker (5-2, 0-1 SAC)
Location: Wise, VA | The Quillen Court in the David J. Prior Convocation Center
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Mia Poag and
Riley Brandon helped the Highland Cavaliers trade early points with Coker before Katelyn Brannam's kill pulled the visitors even at 4-4. The Cavs immediately put together six straight points to lead 10-4, with
Skye Williams starting the run with a kill and then serving through kills by Poag, Brandon and
Olivia Amos around two Coker errors. Coker scored four straight to get back to 10-8, but Poag answered with a sideout kill, and the Cavaliers later used a Brandon kill and consecutive Poag kills to move from 12-9 to 15-9. The Highland Cavaliers maintained at least a three-point cushion the rest of the set, reached 24-18 on a
Mable James-
Riley Brandon block and, after two Coker points, closed the 25-20 win on Brandon's kill from Amos.
Second Set
Amos served the Cavs to a 4-0 start in the second set, including a service ace and a
Riley Brandon block on an Addie Bittner attack error. Coker cut the margin to 7-5 behind a Pelin Aksoy kill and an Ava Mason ace, but the Cavaliers pushed back to 12-7 with kills from Amos and
Mia Poag and a
Serina Petersen block. After Coker got within 19-14, Petersen put down a kill,
Skye Williams added a kill, and Petersen was involved in two late blocks as the Highland Cavaliers closed the set 25-15.
Third Set
The Cavs moved ahead 4-2 early after a
Riley Brandon kill, an
Isabella Baylor kill and a Coker attack error, but Coker pulled even at 4-4 and the teams traded points to an 8-8 tie. Coker moved in front from there, scoring three straight on Cavaliers attack errors and later building a 13-9 lead before Brandon's kill made it 13-10. The Highland Cavaliers cut into the deficit with a
Mia Poag kill and a Coker attack error to get to 18-15, then added a Poag-
Mable James block and another Brandon kill to make it 20-17. Coker reached set point at 24-19, and after a Coker attack error moved the Cavs within 24-20, Pelin Aksoy finished the set with a kill for a 25-20 Coker win.
Fourth Set
The Cavaliers started the fourth set with
Riley Brandon's kill from Amos, a Coker bad set and a
Mable James-
Riley Brandon block to go ahead 3-0, but Coker worked back to a 6-6 tie behind Pelin Aksoy's swings and a block by Cayla Gilmore and Katelyn Brannam. The Cavaliers moved back in front 11-8 on points that included
Skye Williams kills and a Coker attack error, before Coker answered to go ahead 12-11 and the Cavs briefly reclaimed a 13-12 edge on an Amos kill and another James-Brandon block. Coker then scored 10 straight points to turn that one-point Highland Cavaliers lead into a 22-13 deficit, and after James stopped the run with a kill, Coker reached set point at 24-14 and finished the set on Gilmore's kill for a 25-16 result.
Fifth Set
The Cavs started the fifth set with a
Mable James kill and a
Riley Brandon kill, both from Amos, before Coker scored three straight points to move ahead 3-2. Brandon tied it at 3-3, and the set stayed even through 6-6 before a
Skye Williams kill and consecutive Coker attack errors put the Cavaliers in front 9-6. Coker pulled within 9-8 on a kill and a service ace, but Williams answered with a kill, and Brandon added a kill before Amos served back-to-back aces for a 13-8 lead. After Williams' kill pushed the Highland Cavaliers to 14-9, Coker scored three straight to get within 14-12, but Brandon closed the set with a kill from Amos for a 15-12 win.
GETTING WISE
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Riley Brandon led the Cavaliers with a double-double as she had 19 kills, 23.0 points and seven total blocks while adding 11 digs.
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Abigail Curtis recorded a team-high 31 digs and added five assists. Amos finished with 57 assists, 18 digs and three service aces. Her 31 digs were the most by a Highland Cavalier since Oct. 24, 2025, when she had 39 against Coker in their last meeting in Wise.
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Mable James posted 11 kills on a .333 hitting percentage and six total blocks.
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Mia Poag also had a double-double as she notched 15 kills and had 13 digs.
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Olivia Amos led all players with 57 total assists and also had 18 digs. The last time a Highland Cavalier had 60 or more assists was 62 by Zoe Avery vs. Concord (CU won 3-2) on Oct. 1, 2019. The last time one had 50 or more in a conference game was Makayla Ledford's 51 vs. Mars Hill (MHU won 3-2) on Sept. 21, 2019. One neat bit of trivia about those matches is that one of the line judges in each match was a referee tonight. Donna Manetta was the R1 (up) referee tonight and Josh Roberts was the R2 (down) official. Manetta was a line judge in the Concord match and Roberts was a line judge in the Mars Hill match.
- The last time the Cavs had 90+ digs in a match was against Mars Hill on Oct. 25 last year – they had 100 in a four-set match.
UP NEXT
The Cavs will continue SAC play as they host #21 Wingate on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. on the Quillen Court. The Bulldogs are currently 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the SAC after a 3-0 win at Emory & Henry earlier tonight.
