Don't be fooled by the spandex shorts, the ponytails and the high-fives.
If you think volleyball is a sport for the beach or a backyard barbecue, watch Virginia's Stephanie Everett dive for a potential dig, crashing headlong into the team bench and then running right back into the action.
You might also notice Sarah Kirkwood, who wrapped up a painful hand injury halfway through last weekend's championship game, not only return to the action, but serve another five aces.
These girls might not be playing a contact sport, but they're some of the toughest athletes in Charlottesville.
"There's not a lot of person-to-person contact in volleyball, but it is pretty physical because they're always jumping, running, diving for the ball, hitting the floor," volleyball trainer Katie Serenelli said.
On the basketball court, players prefer to stay on their feet. Rare dives for a loose ball earn slaps on the back and applause from the crowd.
Volleyball players, on the other hand, live on the hardwood. With only thin kneepads to cushion their falls, team members dive head-first during practice, warm-ups and dozens of times every game. Unfortunately, all this sacrifice does take its toll.
"By the end of a tournament, everybody's limping a little bit and aching," Kirkwood said. "Lots of times this year we've been getting Mondays off, so by Tuesday, Wednesday and then hopefully by the next weekend when we have to play again, we're feeling pretty good."
A lot of that recovery has to do with Virginia's staff of trainers, who deal with the variety of injuries that come from playing Division I volleyball.
"We see a lot of ankle sprains, mostly because they jump up in the air and land on someone else's foot because they're in such close contact," Serenelli said. "We treat a lot of shoulder instability and some finger problems from blocking -
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