Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Virginia
Deacs Outlast Virginia in Five-Set Thriller
10/22/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeVolleyball)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- The Wake Forest volleyball team outlasted Virginia, 3-2, in a five-set thriller on Sunday afternoon in Charlottesville.
After the Cavaliers (4-17, 0-10 ACC) easily took the first set, the Demon Deacons (11-11, 3-7 ACC) bounced back to win the closely contested second and third sets. Virginia responded with a convincing, 25-15, third-set victory to force a deciding fifth set, where Wake Forest ran away to win, 15-7, and take the match 3-2.
The win for the Demon Deacons snaps a season-long five-match losing streak and gives the team its third ACC win of the season.
Senior Kylie Long had an outstanding match for the Deacs. The outside hitter tallied a career-high 26 kills and hit .351 for the match. She also added eight digs and two blocks. Caroline Wolf totaled 22 digs to lead the team, while freshmen Madeline Holt and Bronte Zlomek also delivered career-highs in digs, with 14 and 12, respectively.
The Cavaliers raced out to a quick lead in the first set and never looked back, taking the set, 25-16. The Demon Deacons hit just .077 for the set. Kylie Long led the Deacs with five kills.
Wake Forest rebounded with a solid second set, as they held off Virginia to take the set, 28-26, and even up the match. The Deacs did not trail until the Cavaliers overtook them at 26-25. However, Wake Forest rallied back to take three of the next four points to take the set. Long led the team with 12 kills through the first two sets.
The third set was much like the second, with Wake Forest leading by a small margin most of the way. After the Demon Deacons had their lead cut to 20-19, the team won five of the last eight points to take the set, 25-22.
Needing just one more set to clinch the match, Wake Forest was overtaken early by the Cavaliers, who won the fourth set, 25-15, to extend the match to a fifth.
In the team's third five-set match of the season, Wake Forest jumped out to an 8-4 lead to force a Virginia timeout. Then, the Deacs kept up the momentum, winning seven of the next 10 points to clinch the match at 15-7. Long produced six of her 26 kills in the final set.
Overall, the match was very even, with the Deacs holding a .190 to .181 edge in hitting percentage.
Up next, Wake Forest continues its season-long road trip with a matchup against Clemson next Friday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m.
