The UVA volleyball team (3-6) fell to Marquette 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-12) in the final match of the Bluegrass Battle on Saturday in Memorial Coliseum.
Virginia finished with 33 kills on a .202 hitting percentage for the match, but Marquette’s (7-2) offense had a strong showing with 43 kills on .348 hitting. The Golden Eagles landed 11 service aces to one for the Cavaliers and had the edge in digs (44-35) and blocks (8-6).
Redshirt junior Alex Thorson (Spring, Texas) led UVA with nine kills. Senior Haley Kole (Tallahassee, Fla.) and freshman Kiley Banker (West Lafayette, Ind.) each tallied seven kills.
Kole also led the way with nine digs for the Cavaliers. Freshman Chino Anukwuem (East Hanover, N.J.) led the team once again with four blocks. Freshman Jennifer Wineholt (San Diego, Calif.) dished out 31 assists and added three blocks.
The Cavaliers were down 10-2 to begin the match, but a 4-0 run cut the lead to 10-6 with three kills for Banker. Virginia was down 20-13 when it tallied for another 4-0 run to cut Marquette’s lead to 20-17 and force a timeout by the Golden Eagles. An ace by Banker cut the lead to two as the Cavaliers remained close, but Marquette held on to take the set 25-19.
Two kills by Banker and Kole helped open up a 4-1 lead for Virginia in the second set. The Cavaliers continued to control the set and extended their lead to 17-11 after a 4-1 run. However, Marquette climbed back in with an 8-2 run to tie the set at 19-19 and was able to use its momentum to win the second set 25-22 and lead the match 2-0.
In the third set, Marquette used a 6-0 run to take a 12-4 advantage over Virginia. The Cavaliers were unable to close the gap as the Golden Eagles went on to clinch the match with a 25-12 victory.
Virginia will close out its non-conference slate next weekend at the Baylor Classic Sept. 16-17. The Cavaliers will play Baylor, Washington State and College of Charleston.
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