Unable to attack or defend with any consistency, the Virginia women's volleyball team fell prey to its overall inexperience Saturday night at University Hall and lost to ACC rival Duke, 3-0. Its second loss of the weekend, following Friday night's defeat to Wake Forest, dropped the Cavaliers' record to 5-8, 1-5 in the ACC.
The Blue Devils (12-2, 4-2) used tough serves and a well-balanced offensive attack to put away Virginia, which hit a microscopic .034 for the match. Beset by communication problems and faced with large deficits almost immediately in every game, the Cavaliers again were unable to mount sustained pressure on their opponent.
"Duke is a very, very strong team," Virginia coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "We're just really struggling. Our outside hitters and our middles are not hitting shots. They're thinking that they can hit over [the blocker], or around them, and we can't. That's the sign of a young team. We really don't know what to do with the ball yet."
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The match opened on a good note for the Cavaliers, as a serve by Whitney Ashcraft resulted in a point off of a Duke receiving error. After a side out, however, Katie Gilman served the Blue Devils to a 7-1 lead they would never relinquish. Virginia pulled to within three points, at 12-9, after an ace by Paige Davis, but Duke responded by winning the next four points and took the first game, 30-19, on a kill by Jill Sonne.
The Cavaliers' evening of frustration was summed up at the beginning of the second game. Following a service by Duke's Josie Weymann, the two teams battled through an exciting rally in which three consecutive blocks by the Virginia middles went to waste. The Blue Devils eventually claimed the point. Behind a cross-court kill and a serve by outside hitter Jenny Harmon, the Cavaliers took a 2-1 lead, but Duke setter Arielle Linderman led the Blue Devils as they captured the second game, 30-18.
"Duke has a desire to win and the skills to do it," Aldrich Shelton said. "And so they were able to pick up those balls that we were able to stop coming over the net. [When] a team covers that well, that's the sign of a good team that works well together."
The Cavaliers took their final lead at 1-0 in the third game, after a serve by setter Lily Phillips was returned wide by the Blue Devils. Phillips recorded the game's only double-double, with 26 assists and 11 digs. Outside hitter Katie Synan led the Cavaliers with six kills, and Ashcraft had 13 digs.
Following the final Blue Devil kill by Ashley Harris that completed the sweep, the Cavaliers were left with a host of weaknesses to address this week in practice.
Virginia co-captain Jenny Harmon, noting the team's recent struggles in matches, said the team will continue to stay focused and practice hard.
"That's one of our greatest strengths," Harmon said. "We just keep fighting harder and harder every day, and one of these days it is bound to pay off"
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