Virginia holds off Virginia Tech in four sets to end five-match skid

Virginia stopped Virginia Tech’s comeback bid in a tight fourth set Wednesday, beating the Hokies 25–19, 25–19, 22–25, 25–23 at Memorial Gymnasium in Charlottesville.

The Cavaliers ended a five-match losing streak and improved to 6–10 overall and 2–5 in the ACC. Virginia Tech fell to 4–12 and 1–6, leaving the teams headed toward a Friday rematch in Blacksburg with Virginia holding the first victory of their two-match week.

The Hokies had a chance to force a deciding set. They led the fourth 10–6 before Virginia recovered to draw even at 19. The Cavaliers then moved ahead 23–20. Kills from Reese Hazelton, Frances Torres and Destiny Walker helped Tech get within 24–23, but Virginia won the next point to finish the match.

Walker led the Hokies with 16 kills on .314 hitting, and Torres added a season-best 11 kills. Hazelton finished with nine kills and 10 digs. Setter Camilla Brandalise contributed 31 assists, seven digs and three aces.

Virginia had already put Tech under pressure by winning the first two sets by identical six-point margins. The Hokies briefly moved ahead 10–9 in the opener, but the Cavaliers regained control. Virginia opened the second set with five straight points and never surrendered the lead.

Tech extended the match in the third. Brandalise delivered two aces during the set, and Torres and Walker provided important late kills. Walker scored the final point of the 25–22 win, bringing the Hokies within a set before their fourth-set lead slipped away.

For Virginia, the result provided its first conference victory since a five-set win at Clemson on Sept. 25. The Cavaliers had since lost to Georgia Tech, Cal, Stanford, Duke and North Carolina. Their previous two matches at Memorial Gymnasium had ended in a five-set loss to Duke and a sweep by North Carolina.

The schedule leaves little time between meetings. Virginia visits Virginia Tech on Friday, Oct. 16, at 6 p.m. at Cassell Coliseum, where the Hokies will have an immediate opportunity to split the week’s rivalry matches.