Following a month of matches on the road, the Virginia volleyball team returns to its home court this weekend to host ACC rivals Wake Forest and Duke at University Hall.
The Cavaliers (5-6, 1-3 ACC) have played seven away matches since their 3-1 home victory over Virginia Tech on Sept. 4. The team's 3-4 record since then and poor opening in ACC play has stemmed from a lack of cohesiveness among players on the court and resulting breakdowns in fundamentals.
"We're really emphasizing [our] blocking and defense," Virginia coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "We're trying to get [the players] to demand more from each other and to demand more from themselves, and to be able to make clutch plays under pressure."
Sophomore outside hitter and co-captain Whitney Ashcraft agreed with Shelton.
"Digging and blocking have been our major weaknesses," Ashcraft said. "We're usually a really good blocking team, but we've gone down in the ACC standings as far as that goes, and we're also trying to improve our defense altogether. We're really concentrating on everyone giving all their effort for every ball."
Both of the Cavaliers' opponents this weekend bring potent offenses to the floor. The Demon Deacons (7-5, 2-2 ACC) are currently fourth in the ACC, and senior middle blocker Margaret Davidson leads the conference with a .367 hitting average. Lining up alongside Davidson is last year's ACC player of the year, senior outside hitter Trina Maso de Moya.
"Wake Forest is a very tough team," Aldrich Shelton said. "Trina Maso de Moya is very strong. We're going to have to shut her down, shut Davidson down and make the rest of them beat us. We will be focusing on our blocking and our defense, and if we can block and dig them, we'll be okay."
Duke, the Virginia's opponent Saturday night, opened its season with an 11-game winning streak. After losing to North Carolina last Saturday, the Blue Devils (11-1, 3-1 ACC) currently are tied for second place in the ACC.
Shelton says the Cavaliers are not intimidated by Duke's record.
"Duke [was] on a hot streak for a long time, but their competition hasn't been the toughest," Shelton said. "But they were 11-0, and so we've got to face them down. Their offense is more evenly distributed than Wake Forest's, but it is just as potent. It's going to be a very big test for us this weekend. Two really good teams that are coming into our house."
Sophomore outside hitter and co-captain Whitney Ashcraft said the Cavaliers were looking forward to being back on their home court for the weekend doubleheader.
"It's really nice to be back at home," Ashcraft said. "We're used to having two ACC teams coming in at the same time. It keeps you focused, because you know that after that Friday match you still have one more to go. Both the matches really count"
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