Everyone knows it's tough to beat ACC teams. One simply has to look at the debacle that was ACC football on Saturday to understand this fact. What most people don't know is that ACC volleyball is just as competitive.
Yes, you read that right. Volleyball just may be the most cutthroat fall sport in the new-look ACC (men's basketball will be the toughest ACC sport, despite the additions of Miami and Virginia Tech). But in volleyball, the difference between the No. 2 and No. 7 ranked teams in the conference is two matches. One bad weekend and your team has to play an extra match in the ACC tournament.
With so many teams right in the middle of the pack, you would think a team that starts only one senior and six underclassmen would be struggling. But instead of faltering, the Virginia volleyball team is thriving. Now that it's crunch-time, the Cavaliers are finding ways to win.
And it's not like this young Virginia team is simply keeping pace. Instead, the Cavaliers are riding a four-match ACC win streak. During the streak, Virginia has beaten teams that it needed to beat and teams it should beat. The Cavaliers have also won in every possible way.
The Cavaliers have dominated (against Duke on Oct. 22); they've won ugly (against Wake Forest on Oct. 23); they've rallied to comeback (against Maryland on Oct. 26); they've won in spite of mistakes (against Virginia Tech on Saturday). The wins may not be consistent performances, but who cares? All that matters is the win, not the way you win.
Granted, this team is not perfect. There have been moments when the team had mental lapses on defense. Virginia's team hitting percentage is low at .217. There isn't a single player on the team who is hitting above .300. The whole season, the offense has been trying not to rely so heavily on freshman phenom Sarah Kirkwood.
But when this team plays well, it's one of the most fun teams to watch on Grounds. Players are constantly running all over the court and diving to save balls that are in play. When this team gets scoring runs, they make sure the crowd is excited.
But the aspect of this team that is most exciting is its potential. Only three things scare me as the calendar turns to November: my post-Halloween trip to the dentist, the possibility of four more years of Bush-Cheney and the potential of the Virginia volleyball team.
Virginia has had to play with only one upperclassman on the court, senior Alexis Geocaris, because of an early-season ankle injury to junior co-captain Kristin Chaney. But the young team has stepped up, and many individual players have performed well this season. The Cavaliers have three players in the top-30 in the nation in statistical categories. Two of those players are freshmen. The oldest of the three is sophomore Emily Kirkwood, who is 27th in the nation in assists per game.
Virginia coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton has assembled a group of talented underclassmen that is starting to come together and gain collegiate experience. Simply look at the difference between Virginia's ACC record during its first tour through the conference earlier this season and the current one. In the first trip, the Cavaliers were 3-5. On this second round of conference play, they are 4-0. I don't know about you, but I call that a turn-around. And I'm willing to chalk most of that turn-around up to the fact that this young team has some experience under its belt.
So while ACC volleyball may be one of the most competitive sports, the Cavaliers have one of the most intriguing teams in the ACC. This young team is starting to come together, and the other teams in the ACC better start to take notice.
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