Virginia Volleyball defeats Syracuse in a thrilling five-set match – The Cavalier Daily

After a thrilling split-score weekend at home, Virginia hit the road to play Syracuse in a midweek matchup on Wednesday night. After a harrowing five sets, the Cavaliers (16-4, 6-3 ACC) managed to oust the Orange (12-9, 0-9 ACC) by just two points in the deciding set, securing another conference win : 3:2.

The game started quickly, with Syracuse getting its first point of the night and Virginia countering with a kill from freshman setter Zoey Dood. The score remained close in the opening minutes – each team warming up and trying to read their opponent’s energy and strategy. A point that gave the Orange a 3-2 lead seemed to energize the Cavaliers, and they went on a four-point run to take the lead.

That lead was short-lived, however, as Syracuse responded with an offensive run of its own, scoring five unchallenged points to take an 8-6 lead. Shocked by the speed at which the Orange fired back, the Cavaliers took a timeout to talk about their strategy and figure out what they needed to do to win not only this set, but the game.

After the timeout, a kill by junior middle blocker Kate Dean and a block by sophomore outside hitter Lauryn Bowie tied the score at 8-8 and ensured Syracuse couldn’t find an opportunity to move forward.

From then on the result remained close. The Orange maintained a slight lead, but Virginia was never far behind. With the score at 18-17, the Cavaliers had an opportunity to take the lead at a crucial moment, but Syracuse was on a roll, scoring eight points and only allowing Virginia to score one more point before it was over. The Orange won the first set by six points, 25-19 – letting the Cavaliers know this wouldn’t be an easy win for Virginia.

The second set started in a similar way to the first set – both teams were evenly matched and showed a level of determination that never let the lead slip too far.

The Cavaliers took a sneaky lead, scored a few points and took a 7-4 lead. Trailing by just three points, the Orange were never too far behind and knew it only took a few big plays to even the score. However, they struggled to put together a consecutive run that would put them ahead like they did in the first set.

Virginia held on and managed to increase the gap to five points at 13-8 – forcing a Syracuse timeout. While the Orange felt this would be enough to tie the score, the Cavaliers saw this as a chance to jump even further and score an unchallenged five points to take a nine-point lead at 18-9 lay.

Syracuse couldn’t score more than two points in a row and was always interrupted by another Virginia point. They managed to score three points in a row, forcing a total of four set points, but at that point the lead was too big to turn the tide. The Cavaliers won the second set 25-19, the same score by which the Orange won the first set.

Virginia started the third set with four straight points, bolstered by a strong win in the second set. The Cavaliers surprised Syracuse and found it easier to take off in this set and be the leading scorer most of the time.

The Orange almost managed to tie the score at 7-6, but Virginia held on to the lead it had fought hard for. The Cavaliers were usually ahead by at least two or three points – just enough to stay on their toes, but not enough to have to fight every second to break a tie.

After a media timeout, it appeared Syracuse had a chance for an offensive break, closing the score from 15-11 to 15-13, but the Orange were unable to get the coveted two points. The rest of the third set followed this pattern – Virginia would take a small lead only for Syracuse to cut the deficit to two points, but the Cavaliers repeated it and extended the lead once again.

This back and forth continued for a while until a kill from senior setter Ashley Le tied the third set at 25-22 and gave Virginia its second overall point of the night, making the score 2-1.

Looking ahead to the fourth set, both teams knew this could potentially be the final set of the night. Syracuse found a second wave of energy and wasn’t fazed by the Cavaliers taking the first two points of the fourth set, scoring four straight points – giving the Orange a quick lead.

Virginia initially struggled to keep up, but a kill from veteran outside hitter Brooklyn Borum and two consecutive attack errors from Syracuse made it 7-7. The Cavaliers almost managed to take the lead, but couldn’t match the Orange’s energy.

In a thrilling back-and-forth, Virginia couldn’t turn the tide to take the lead or even the score – Syracuse forced a fifth and deciding set by winning the fourth set 25-21 and increasing the overall score to 2-2.

As the fifth set began, it became clear to fans and everyone watching that this was going to be the most intense set of all. Three points in favor of the Orange immediately put the Cavaliers at a disadvantage, as they had before, but this time they were able to fight back with a seven-point run and never let Syracuse hold their breath for a moment.

The Orange scored three straight points to make it 7-6, but Virginia wouldn’t let them tie the score. The Cavaliers maintained their slim lead, knowing they only had to score 15 points and be two points ahead of Syracuse to secure the win.

Every point was fought for and each team tried to keep attacking errors to a minimum. In the end, a well-timed timeout in Virginia and a service error by the Orange gave the Cavaliers the final point of the night and won the final set 15-13.

To say that the two teams mirrored each other throughout the game is an understatement. Both teams fought hard for victory and pushed each other to new limits in this conference duel. Games like these allow Virginia to prepare for upcoming post-regular season games where it will face opponents it hasn’t faced in a year.

The Cavaliers remain on the road for their next game, where they will face Boston College on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Eagles then face Virginia Tech on Friday at 1 p.m. – looking at their performances against the Hokies and Cavaliers can be a good indicator for when Virginia travels to Blacksburg for the Commonwealth Clash on November 6th.