The Virginia volleyball team closes out the regular season with four road games, two this weekend -- at NC State tonight and at North Carolina tomorrow.
The Cavaliers have had mixed success against these two Research Triangle teams. North Carolina downed the Cavaliers in straight sets earlier this season in Charlottesville, whereas the Cavaliers defeated NC State at home in four sets.
Virginia began the season with a sixteen-game non-conference win streak, but the team has not fared as well in conference play. The Cavaliers are now 21-7 on the season, 5-7 in the ACC.
The team pulled out an exciting five-set win over Clemson at Memorial Gym last weekend, 30-26, 21-30, 24-30, 30-24, 15-8, despite falling behind two sets to one early on.
"We took it internally and changed our mindset and attitude," senior outside hitter Paige Davis said. "We played more aggressively. Every point, we make it count."
The victory moved the Cavaliers ahead of Clemson and into fifth place in the ACC standings, tied with Duke. However, only one game separates the fifth through eighth-place teams in the conference. In order to avoid playing ACC top seed and seventh-ranked Georgia Tech in the first round of the conference tournament, the Cavaliers need to close out the season strong.
Coach Melissa Shelton said she was pleased with the performance of Virginia's seniors, who played their final home game last weekend.
"The seniors played great," Shelton said. "This was the hardest working class I have ever coached. They were a stabilizing force for us and we will miss them a lot."
Shelton also said she was proud of the team's effort in the come-from-behind victory.
"They were going all out on defense," Shelton said. "I could not be prouder of them for doing that and that's the effort it takes to win in this conference."
A big part of that defensive effort came from Davis who matched her career-high in kills in her last home game.
"I had no clue what I was at," said Davis. "I was slightly disappointed because I wanted more, but I was excited."
NC State has struggled this season, with only two seniors on the squad, to a record of 7-20, 0-12 in the conference. The Wolfpack was defeated by Florida State in straight sets in their last match. The team is led by Brazilian freshman outside hitter/ setter/libero Julia Reis, who dominates the team statistically. Reis is tops on the squad in kills and service aces and is second in digs. Junior middle blocker Maya Mapp is also a key contributor, second in kills and first in total blocks.
North Carolina (17-9, 8-4 ACC), third in the ACC, also fell to the Seminoles in straight sets in their last game. The Tar Heels are led by senior middle hitter Aletha Green, who leads the team in total blocks, and junior outside hitter Molly Pyles, who paces the team in kills and service aces and is second in digs.
The Cavaliers will need to repeat last weekend's strong performance against NC State and North Carolina this weekend to finish the season on a good note.
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