Though the Virginia volleyball team has been held winless in its last seven games, recent progress in practice and on the court has the team upbeat as it hosts ACC rivals Florida State and N.C. State this weekend.
After showing some improvement during last weekend's road trip to Clemson and Georgia Tech, the Cavaliers returned home Tuesday night to take on No. 25 North Carolina. Refusing to be intimidated by the Tar Heels' undefeated ACC record, Virginia (5-11, 1-8 ACC) took the first game, 31-29, behind its best all-around play this season. Although North Carolina came back and won the match in four games, the Cavaliers demonstrated that they could bring their skills to the game court and compete with any team in the conference.
"We really made some breakthroughs this weekend working with this lineup," Virginia coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "We're starting to make our plays. We're starting to make things happen on our side, instead of constantly making errors."
As the Cavaliers begin the second half of their ACC schedule, they are looking to continue their improvement while avenging their earlier losses.
"We've been getting better every single day," Aldrich Shelton said. "Because we haven't been getting the [wins], the battle now is to keep our confidence up. We [the coaches] need to stay positive with the players and they need to keep the belief in themselves."
Senior outside hitter Andrea Fischer said that winning the first game against North Carolina marked a turning point in Virginia's year.
Winning the first game "was huge for us," Fischer said. "It is a big turnaround in our season. We needed to pick things up a little bit, and we did."
Fischer also cast an eye toward next month's ACC tournament.
"This was a huge step towards the ACCs," she said. "We have a youngish team, but we keep building and building each day in practice, working really hard. I think this was the first step in the building [process towards] winning the ACC tournament."
Tonight will be another step toward that goal, as Virginia hosts Florida State. The Seminoles (7-9, 4-4) are led by dominating middle hitter Norisha Campbell, who currently is third in the ACC with a .349 hitting percentage.
"They're tough," Shelton said. "We need to get them in trouble with their ball control and do what we can to slow down their middle attack, led by Norisha Campbell."
Although the Cavaliers are focusing on tonight's match right now, the visit of N.C. State (5-11, 1-7) on Sunday afternoon will also be on their minds.
"N.C. State is the one team we've beaten," Shelton said. "We just need to stay tough and persistent throughout the match. They don't necessarily have a big gun, but they do play very tenacious defense, so we have to be patient on our side and take advantage of our opportunities."
With seven conference matches remaining, Shelton underlined Virginia's resolve to continue its improved play.
"We can compete with anybody," Shelton added. "There are nine teams in the ACC that can win the title, and that's why it's such a great conference. On any night, the team that plays the best will get the win"
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