After two consecutive 3-1 conference wins against Wake Forest and Syracuse, Boston College volleyball traveled to Virginia to take on the Cavaliers. Both teams were evenly matched, as neither has had a particularly strong season overall or in conference play. The Eagles and Cavaliers were both coming off long losing streaks and were hoping to gain some momentum as they headed into the last stretch of conference play. The match went down to the wire and ended with BC showing heart and grit to win its third ACC match in five sets.
The first set was initially close, with 12 straight kills deciding the points before the Eagles (7-16, 2-11 Atlantic Coast) committed a service error to go down 8-6. While BC tied the score multiple times in the early portion of the game, UVA (5-20, 2-11) did not relinquish the lead that it built up. The Cavaliers went up 15-10 and only allowed BC to get as close as 20-17, before finishing the set on a 5-2 run. BC hit .378 during the set, but UVA bettered that mark, hitting .458 as a team, which eventually led to its six-point set win.
The second set began in BC’s favor, with the Eagles quickly going up 3-0. UVA chipped away, coming within one point after a kill, but consecutive kills from Sophia West and another Cavaliers error kept the lead at four points. Kills from West and McKenna Goss gave BC an 11-6 lead, forcing UVA to take a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Kelsey Miller hit another ace, and BC committed three straight errors. A Cavaliers kill cut the Eagles lead to 15-13, and BC called a timeout. UVA dominated after the break in play, tying the set at 16 and forcing the Eagles to call another timeout. The Cavaliers then hit two consecutive kills to go up 18-16. While the Eagles tied the game at 20 after an ace from Lexi Riccolo and a kill from Sol Calvete, UVA closed the set out 25-22 with an ace.
BC was not going to roll over, as it jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead in the third set. The Eagles benefitted from UVA errors and three kills from Calvete. UVA scored two points on a kill and a BC error, but kills from Cat Balido and West kept the lead at six points. A kill by Jill Strockis gave the Eagles an 11-4 lead, but UVA ran off four consecutive points to bring the score to 11-8. After a timeout, the Eagles extended their lead. UVA called two timeouts in order to slow down the Eagles’ scoring, but it was not enough, as Calvete put away a ball to win the third set for BC.
The Cavaliers took a 3-0 lead in the fourth set, aided by consecutive attack errors from the Eagles. Consecutive kills from Strockis tied the score at seven, and from there the teams traded points, matching kill with kill and error with error. UVA went on a 6-1 run to go up 16-11, but BC responded with a 3-0 run of its own to get within two points. The Cavaliers built up an 18-14 lead and appeared poised to run away with both the set and match, but kills from Calvete and Goss brought BC back within one point. The Eagles tied the score at 23, 24, 25, and 26, before a service ace and an error from UVA gave the Eagles a fourth set win.
After struggling to capitalize during the first few sets, BC welcomed a chance to put away the match during the fifth set. It ran off four straight points to go up 4-1, after two UVA errors, a kill from Calvete, and an ace from Haley Kole. UVA battled back to tie the score at 6, and after a kill and BC error, the Cavaliers went up 10-8. BC battled back, and regained a late lead due to three kills by Julia Topor. Kills from Goss and Calvete gave BC a 15-12 set win, and ultimately a five-set match victory.
Featured Image by Amelie Trieu / Heights Editor
