WISE – Just a handful of points denied UVA Wise volleyball a Homecoming win for the ages, but #21 Wingate rallied from behind in both the first and fifth set to claim the 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 25-19, 11-25, 9-15) South Atlantic Conference win Friday evening at The Quillen Court in the David J. Prior Convocation Center.
Prior to the evening the Bulldogs not only owned a 12-0 advantage in the all-time series, but had never dropped a set to the Highland Cavaliers. But a young team and their first-year head coach would make a strong statement on the latter, taking not only one set but two, and being very close to taking the whole shebang.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result: Wingate 3, UVA Wise 2
Records: UVA Wise (3-4, 1-2 SAC); Wingate (6-2, 2-1 SAC)
Location: Wise, VA | David J. Prior Convocation Center
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
With the opening set tied 9-9, the Highland Cavaliers surged ahead 14-9, taking the first point on a Wingate attack error before
Serina Petersen served four straight points that included a
Mia Poag kill, a
Mable James/
Mia Poag block, a Petersen ace and a James kill. After
Riley Brandon's kill made it 15-10, Wingate scored nine straight points on Rylee Tanner's serve to move in front 19-15. Wingate later led 22-17, but
Skye Williams delivered consecutive kills to make it 22-19, then added another kill before an
Olivia Amos ace brought the Cavs within 23-21. Wingate reached 24-21, the Cavaliers got kills from Williams and Brandon to close to 24-23, and Tanner answered with the final kill to give Wingate the set 25-23.
Second Set
After Wingate moved in front 2-1,
Maggy Sechrist put down two kills around a
Mable James kill, and the Highland Cavaliers pushed ahead 8-3 when James and Amos combined on a block and Sechrist followed with a service ace. Wingate got two points back on kills by Lillian Edwards, and after the teams traded the next two points,
Skye Williams had two kills while Amos served an ace in a four-point Cavaliers burst that made it 13-6. Wingate narrowed the gap from 16-8 to 16-11 and later pulled within 22-20 on a Jordan Griffin kill, while the Cavs used kills from
Riley Brandon, Sechrist, Williams and
Serina Petersen to stay in front. Sechrist's back-to-back kills gave the Highland Cavaliers set point at 24-20, and after Grace Woodring kept Wingate alive, James and Brandon combined on the final block for a 25-21 set win. The win broke Wingate's streak of 37 straight set wins over the Cavs.
Third Set
The Cavaliers held a 7-6 edge in the third set before
Mable James sided out with a kill, and
Abigail Curtis then served five straight points as
Serina Petersen,
Skye Williams and Amos added kills during a 6-0 run to make it 13-6. Wingate answered with two points and later got kills from Grace Woodring and Lillian Edwards, but the Highland Cavaliers kept separation with kills by Petersen, Sechrist, Amos and James to move ahead 20-13. After Wingate closed to 21-16,
Skye Williams and Petersen put down kills,
Riley Brandon's kill made it 24-18, and the Cavs finished the set 25-19 on a Wingate attack error.
Fourth Set
Wingate opened the fourth set with six straight points, including Reece Bellush-assisted kills by Jordan Griffin, Carson Reeves and Rylee Tanner, before Sechrist put the Cavaliers on the board with a kill from Amos.
Riley Brandon's kill made it 10-2, and after Wingate reached 12-2, the Highland Cavaliers got a
Mable James block, a James kill, two
Skye Williams kills and a
Serina Petersen-
Riley Brandon block to move to 16-8. Wingate pushed the set to 20-9 with help from kills by Reeves and Griffin and a Rylee Lambert ace, and although Sechrist and James added late kills for the Cavs, Wingate closed the set with Grace Woodring and Lillian Edwards kills for a 25-11 finish.
Fifth Set
The fifth set stayed even through 5-5, with
Riley Brandon and Sechrist each putting down two kills for the Cavaliers before a Wingate attack error tied it again. After
Skye Williams' kill trimmed Wingate's edge to 7-6 and Brandon and
Serina Petersen teamed on a block to make it 8-7, Carson Reeves and Jordan Griffin answered with kills that moved Wingate ahead 10-7. Amos and
Mia Poag added late kills for the Highland Cavaliers, but after Poag's swing made it 11-9, Alanna Vavao's kill started a four-point Wingate finish that ended the set 15-9.
GETTING WISE
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Skye Williams' first career double-double led the Cavaliers with 14 kills and added 14 digs while hitting .308.
- Amos finished with 46 assists, 10 digs, seven kills and two service aces. It was her second straight double-double in a row.
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Riley Brandon also had a double-double with 12 kills and 14 digs.
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Abigail Curtis recorded a team-high 28 digs and added six assists.
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Mable James posted five total blocks and contributed eight kills. She is currently the SAC's active leader in blocks with 1.10 per set.
- As a team, the Cavs hit .210 for the match, including an impressive .405 in the third set.
- The Cavs have never defeated a top-25 team in the NCAA era (2013-present). According to available records, the 2007 team defeated several teams who were receiving votes, but as far as we can determine, the Cavs have never defeated a ranked top 25 team.
UP NEXT
Southwest Virginia's Team will host local rival Emory & Henry in a SAC match on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, at 7 p.m. on the Quillen Court. The Wasps enter the match with a 0-7 overall record and they are 0-3 in SAC play after a 3-0 loss to Coker earlier tonight.
