Former Vice President Dan Quayle once said, "The future will be better tomorrow." For the Cavaliers, that means winning today.
Starting with this weekend's double-header against Florida State and Miami, the message coming from the team has been crystal clear: In order to have a realistic shot at second place in the ACC, every one of the season's final six matches must be victories.
Although this may sound overly optimistic, the Cavaliers are not kidding themselves. The team has already beaten five of its final six opponents once this season, and completing the sweep may not be too much of a stretch.
"Our goal is to finish out the season with no more losses," freshman setter Marlow Bruneau said. "We have to finish with all wins and hopefully make second [in the ACC] or stay in third and separate ourselves from the rest."
With no ACC Tournament, the last part of the volleyball schedule has all the urgency of a playoff push.
Currently sitting in third place with an 11-5 conference record, the Cavaliers will need to be consistent and hope for a little divine intervention to move past second place North Carolina in the standings. It doesn't help that the Tar Heels have gotten the better of Virginia twice already this year.
First place in the ACC has been safely tucked away by the Maryland Terrapins, a team that has only dropped one game the entire season.
Another reason the Cavaliers are talking about a mid-November sweep could be because they are looking in the rear view mirror. Duke, with a 10-5 record, is only one game behind Virginia -- and the two will face each other in Durham next weekend.
In practice this week, the Cavaliers have been working on plugging some last-minute cracks exposed over the past few matches.
"We've really been working on developing the defense," coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "Playing Maryland really exposed some definite holes in our formations. We're working on some cover shots and other things to improve."
If defense has been one of the team's weaknesses, a balanced offense has definitely been a strength. In the last two matches, four different players have racked up double figures in kills -- in large part thanks to generous ball distribution by setter Emily Kirkwood.
"I think Emily's done a very good job of spreading the ball around," Bruneau said. "Obviously having a connection with her sister [team kill leader Sarah Kirkwood] helps us, but she's done a really good job spreading around the offense. It's more balanced now that we have [outside hitter] Beth [Shelton] involved, and our middles are better."
Friday's clash with Florida State at Memorial Gymnasium is the first step in the Cavaliers' plan for a late-season sprint. The match also will be the first time Virginia has played at home since Oct. 29 -- a distinct advantage given the fact that the Cavaliers have only lost three home matches this year.
Though it remains to be seen whether the team can live up to its ambitious goal, grabbing two victories against teams from the Sunshine State this weekend is one way to make things look a little better tomorrow.
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