Hoping to ride the momentum of the weekend, the Virginia women's volleyball team (4-7) will travel to Richmond to face Virginia Commonwealth University tonight at 7. Virginia finished third in the Toyota Knoxville Lady Vol Classic this past weekend with a record of 1-2, defeating East Carolina in their final game of the tournament.
"I thought we played well," said coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton, who is in her eighth season as head coach. "Given our circumstances without an experienced setter, we are really stretching our limits."
What the Cavaliers do have are two strong seniors, providing leadership and skill. Rightside hitter Kiersten Kaufman and middle Simona Kuipers display passion for victory.
"They're both playing really well
one of the things we've stressed is that we need to go out and be the more aggressive team and put down balls. Simona and Kiersten have really risen to the occasion," Aldrich Shelton said.
Kuipers' performance this weekend earned her a spot on the All-Tournament team. She hit .351 in three matches with just four errors. She also had eight kills in each match, plus nine blocks, six digs and six service aces.
Kaufman had mixed opinions about the Cavaliers' performance.
"The first match, we just weren't ready to play," she said. "Once the third game rolled around, we realized that we can't keep doing this and stepped it up. We did a really good job in the second and third match of starting strong. Whether we played strong the whole way is another story, but we've had real tough problems starting off strong and it's just a battle in itself just to be able to beat that."
Helping to set the pace of play is outside hitter Paige Davis. The junior continues to be a powerful offensive and defensive weapon. She has registered 115 kills and 115 digs this season, averaging 3.03 per game.
Co-captain Whitney Ashcraft is the defensive specialist of the team with a commanding 165 digs this season. She is also the team's top libero and plays outside hitter.
VCU (7-3) is a team on the rise.
"VCU was a weaker team, but they have a real good coach this year so they're going to be stronger," Kaufman said. "I know they just played JMU and lost, who we beat. They lost really closely so they'll be tough and fiery. I wouldn't be happy if we didn't win."
Virginia anticipates a strong showing from VCU, but the team believes it can achieve victory.
"We expect a fight," Aldrich Shelton said. "Anytime you play an in-state team on their court, you expect a dogfight. They've got a great senior setter and an outside hitter who seems to be doing pretty well. The thing we need to do most is take care of our side of the court."
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