Hurricanes Dominate Virginia in 3-0 Sweep
Nov. 7, 2004
Coral Gables, Fla. – Junior outside hitter Karla Johnson went 17-for-35 with no errors and a .486 hitting percentage to pace the Hurricanes to a 3-0 (30-16, 30-28, 30-16) win over ACC foe Virginia Sunday afternoon at the Knight Sports Complex.
Also posting a double-digit kill effort was senior outside hitter Elizabeth Tyson who hit 12 kills on 24 swings for a .417 hitting percentage. Tyson was one dig shy of a double-double and also posted one solo block and one block assist. Sophomore setter Jill Robinson led all players with 41 assists.
“Our outside hitters had a great match,” said head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch after the match. “Karla and Biz (Tyson) put the ball away for us.”
“Our offense flowed well as a team. Jill (Robinson) did a nice job. I’m proud of getting this three-game sweep.”
Defensively, the Hurricanes combined for 13.0 blocks while holding the Cavaliers to only one block in the match. Redshirt freshman Ciara Michel posted seven total blocks (1 BS, 6 BA) to lead all players while redshirt sophomore Francheska Savage posted three solo blocks. Senior Valeria Tipiana recorded six block assists while classmate Jamie Grass registered a match-high 18 digs.
For the Cavaliers Lindsay Osco posted the only double-double of the match with a 13 kill, 10 dig effort.
As a team, the Hurricanes hit .422 with 52 kills and only six errors while holding UVa to a .131 hitting percentage and forcing 26 digs.
The Hurricanes opened the match in dominating fashion after taking a quick 4-2 lead after an ace by Tipiana. Savage’s first of two solo blocks in the game added another point before back-to-back kills by Robinson made the score 8-3. Three consecutive block efforts involving Michel tacked on three more points to give the Hurricanes a 15-7 lead. A solo block by Tyson, her first since September 17th, and another ace by Tipiana gave Miami a 20-10 lead heading into a Maryland timeout. Johnson’s kill with the score at 28-16 shut down a late Virginia rally and another kill by the Houston, Texas native gave the Hurricanes game point. Michel’s second kill of the match eventually sealed the 30-16 win.
Virginia led for the first time in the match after they took a 5-2 lead early in the second game. The Hurricanes inched back after a block by Michel and Tipiana and a kill by Johnson, which tied the score at five-all. Both team exchanged leads until Miami extended their lead to five after an ace by junior Kaitlin Kozak. A bloop kill by Johnson gave the Hurricanes a 23-19 lead. Kills by Tyson and Tipiana and a solo block by Savage would pull the Hurricanes to within three points of the win. But, down by three, the Cavaliers rallied to make the score 27-25 heading into a Miami timeout. With the score at 28-26, Virginia pulled within one on two different occasions but two kills by Savage kept the Cavaliers at bay and gave the Hurricanes a 30-28 win.
The Hurricanes took a decisive 30-16 win in game three after getting an early 15-7 lead. Miami held UVa to a .059 hitting percentage and forced nine attacking errors while hitting .515 with no errors.
The Hurricanes return to action when they travel to the state of North Carolina for a two-match road stand. Friday they will face North Carolina at 7:00 pm before taking on NC State Sunday at 1:00 pm.
