The Virginia volleyball team will try to build upon a straight-game victory over Texas-Pan American Saturday when it hosts JMU tonight at University Hall at 7 p.m.
The Cavaliers (1-2) traveled to Texas to compete in the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational. They lost their opening two matches to the University of Texas and the University of San Diego, both top-30 teams, in three games before bouncing back against Texas-Pan American.
"We started off slowly," junior libero Whitney Ashcraft said. "We really built up over the course of the weekend and improved, but there were a few periods of time where we fell back into a rut."
Virginia coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton echoed Ashcraft's sentiment of improvement.
"We played well," Aldrich Shelton said. "Towards the end, we were performing in a lot of areas we've been working on. Our blocking was the best in the tournament."
Virginia struggled with a .107 hitting percentage against San Diego and a .065 percentage against Texas before bouncing back with a .257 percentage against Pan American, which indicates the level of competition the Cavaliers faced.
"We went after balls versus Pan American with the intent to put them down," Aldrich Shelton said. "We are struggling with the fine line between keeping the ball in play and putting it down."
One bright spot for Virginia was the play of sophomore setter Lily Phillips, who was named to the All-Tournament team. Phillips, named to the ACC All-Freshman team last season, recorded a double-double against Pan American with 33 assists and 11 digs. Phillips averaged 8.33 assists per game over the tournament, well above her average last year of 6.49.
"Lily was easily the best setter in the tournament," Aldrich Shelton said. "She had a solid tournament."
Like Virginia, JMU also opened the season in a four-team tournament. The Dukes lost their first two games in the Marriott Sunset Showcase to UC-Irvine and Santa Clara before beating the University of New Orleans.
JMU is led by a pair of middle blockers, junior Dana Jones and sophomore Katie Fuchs, who tallied 29 kills between them in the Dukes' last match against New Orleans. Jones was named to the All-Tournament team.
Virginia holds an 18-15 all-time edge over the Dukes and rallied for a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Dukes last season.
"We need to stay aggressive with our serving," Aldrich Shelton said, identifying the Cavaliers' keys to victory. "Our hitters need to go up with the intent to put it down and our passing needs to be accurate."
Read More
For Leah Hayes, 'Just keep swimming' is what Virginia is all about
By Xander Tilock | YesterdayShe shatters records in the pool and is an inspiration to swimming fans and all those with alopecia.
Virginia comes back from a 20-point gap but falls short versus No. 18 Georgia Tech
By Victoria Blankenship | YesterdayVirginia loses another ACC bout in heartbreaking fashion.
How a reinvention turned Andrew Rohde into men’s basketball’s most reliable player
By Thomas Baxter | 2 days agoThe guard has become one of Virginia's primary threats.
