CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The Virginia women’s volleyball team concluded its season on Sunday (12/8) with a 3-1 loss to St. John’s in the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) at Memorial Gymnasium. The Cavaliers (21-11) completed the year with their highest win total since 2006.

Freshman Becca Wight paced Virginia with 11 kills, matching her season high. Defensively, Abby Tadder and Kate Dean recorded six blocks each, equaling the match-high total set by St. John’s Ludovica Zola. St. John’s was led offensively by Giorgia Walther with 21 kills and Rashanny Solano Smith, who posted 23 digs.

Virginia recorded 21 wins this season, the most for the program since 2006, and reached the second round of the NIVC in its first postseason appearance since 2015. Wight tied her season high in kills during the match, while Zoey Dood matched her season high with two service aces.

Head Coach Shannon Wells reflected on the team’s growth after the match, saying, “Kudos to St. John’s. We had a chance to watch them yesterday, and they are a scrappy team with some good arms. I thought they came out and asserted themselves from the beginning. I told our team downstairs that one match doesn’t make our season or break our season. This has been unbelievable for our program. We are extremely grateful for our seniors for putting us in this position where UVA volleyball is playing in December, and we have learned a lot. The good news is that our program is not going anywhere. We are definitely not going backward, and we will learn a lot from this match and take it into next season.”

The Cavaliers’ 2024 season concluded with a 21-11 record.