Ross, Herrington, and Ehrlich combined for 26 of the 37 kills throughout the match. (Paul Criado / Heights Staff)
Virginia’s Kate Dean tacked on a kill to push her team’s lead to 11–10 in the first set, and from then on it seemed Boston College volleyball would be in for another conference battle.
Cornelia Roach answered right back with a kill of her own. And then a service error. And then a kill from Anna Herrington. Quickly, BC jumped to a 14–11 lead, but it wouldn’t want to get too comfortable too quickly.
So the Eagles (12–3, 1–2 Atlantic Coast) continued to rattle off points, and a 15–3 rally brought them all the way to a set one victory, along with all the momentum for a 3–0 sweep of Virginia (7–6, 0–3 ACC) on Friday night.
After a back-and-forth beginning to the first set, a 10–10 tie included six kills from BC led by three from Audrey Ross.
Their 15–3 run had another eight kills from the Eagles, including two each from Herrington and Bella Ehrlich.
Ross, Herrington, and Ehrlich combined for 26 of the 37 kills throughout the match.
The second set was a different story, as neither school had a lead larger than three points the entire match. Virginia had two three-point leads of its own, including a 24–21 lead that they failed to cap off with a win.
A total of 13 ties and 13 lead changes built up the tension for the win-by-two showdown the teams entered.
Down to its last chance and forced to rattle off three-straight points to capture a commanding 2–0 lead, Roach kicked things off with a kill, followed by back-to-back attack errors to tie the game at 24-a-piece.
After trading a win to put it the set at 25–25, Ali Natt’s ace and Herrington’s kill rounded out a 27–25 win for BC that put them up two sets.
The kills continued to pile in for BC’s front line in the third set—eight of its first 13 points were kills from five different Eagles, and another four of those points came off service aces.
The Eagles quickly jumped to a 15–8 lead, inching closer and closer to their desperately-coveted first ACC win of the season after sweeps in their previous two conference matchups.
Sitting at a 21–15 lead, the Cavaliers pressured with three-straight points from two kills and an ace, attempting to post a late-game comeback of their own.
But Ross and Roach shut the door on Virginia, each recording two kills for BC’s final four points and capturing the team a 25–21 win and the 3–0 sweep.