Miami Volleyball returned with a competitive 3-1 home win against the Virginia Cavaliers at the James L. Knight Complex in Coral Gables Friday night. They were coming off last week’s disappointing loss against No.3 Louisville Cardinals in Kentucky.
The ‘Canes secured a much-needed in-conference win, contributing to their ACC record of 9-4 as the conference season is nearing the end with five games left on the schedule.
The ‘Canes set the tone of the match, coming out strong against Virginia with an impressive first-set win 25-12. Fifth-year setter Savannah Vach put Miami in the lead behind the service line, alongside Sophmore Flormarie Heredia-Colon and Freshman Grace Lopez with nine kills each.
The Cavaliers would not let the ‘Canes dominate so easily, coming back in a close second set. However, the ‘Canes still won by a score of 25-22. The second set featured strong performances from Lopez and Junior Ashley Carr, with solid service from Yaidaliz Rosado. There were notable big hits from Heredia Colon and Graduate Student Janice Leao to close out that set’s victory.
The ‘Canes struggled in the third set and tried to fight against Virginia’s strong kills, but it was not enough, and the Cavaliers won the set 25-19.
Virginia kept their momentum going into the fourth set, but the Canes’ found their way back from an initial 10-point deficit with a potent offense by Redshirt Senior Angela Grieve. Casiano and Grieve responded perfectly to Virginia’s hits with their defense, allowing Vach and Leao to create a wall and win the set 25-23. After being on the edge of their seats the last three sets, the Miami home crowd was ecstatic to see the Canes come out on top.
The ‘Canes will take on the Pittsburgh Panthers on Sunday at the James L. Knight Sports Complex. The game will start at 1 p.m.