When leaving the G. Rollie White Coliseum in College Station, Texas last weekend, the Virginia volleyball team had little to regret about its matches in the Texas A&M Tournament.
Although the 1-2 record they brought back to Charlottesville with them says otherwise, the Cavaliers and coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton were satisfied with the team's overall performance. The Cavaliers have returned to Memorial Gymnasium hitting the weights and building their strength for this weekend's upcoming tournament.
"Fitness is always a big part of our team," sophomore outside hitter Sarah Kirkwood said. "Days we don't lift, we condition."
The Marriot Flyer Invitational will be hosted by the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio Sept. 9-10. The Cavaliers begin the tournament with a match against Dayton (3-4) Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. The following day, the team will compete against Mississippi State (4-0) and Indiana State (0-7).
Shelton said she hopes for more aggression on the court.
"We have to focus on getting hitters to transition aggressively and play strong every time," she said.
Aggression is essential for Virginia, especially since the team's hitting average dropped from .369 before the tournament to .173 after its two losses against No. 13 Texas A&M (6-0) and No. 23 St. Mary's (5-1) last weekend.
"We're going to change our attitudes going into matches," Kirkwood said in reference to how the team seeks to improve its performance. "We have a bunch of strong hitters, and need to use the fire power that we have."
While working on strategy and attitude will be advantageous for the Cavaliers, they also feel they need to step up their blocking.
Dayton's Faye Barhorst, an Atlantic 10 Player of the Week, leads the Flyers with a .342 hitting average and has already hit double digits in kills four times this season. Indiana State also has a strong offensive attack behind senior Tessa Wolf, who has averaged 2.74 kills per game this season.
Mississippi State poses the most competition for the Cavaliers as it heads into the tournament with a 4-0 record, the team's best since 2000. The Bulldogs average 16.30 digs per game on defense.
Hoping to do as well in this tournament as in the last, sophomore outside hitter Beth Shelton is working hard to make up for her injury that left her sidelined for all but one game last season. She was selected for the All-Tournament team following the 33.5 total points she scored last weekend.
"We're going into the game giving it everything we've got and hope to come home with a win," Beth Shelton said.
The team is excited to return home the following weekend, Sept. 16-17, for the Jefferson Cup. The Cavaliers will compete against Appalachian State(4-1), Liberty(3-1) and Albany(4-1).
Hopefully for Virginia fans, the Cavaliers will leave Dayton's gym with even less to regret and a better record to show for it.
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