Like a car running out of gas in the middle of the highway, every last drop of adrenaline had evaporated from the Virginia bench. As they had done several times before, the Cavaliers fought hard against a favored North Carolina team through two games but sat frustrated and sputtering as the Tar Heels shifted into a new gear.
While the Cavaliers easily have rolled past lesser ACC opponents in 2005, the team has struggled to maintain momentum against the conference's best, preventing it from sitting with the title favorites heading into the final stage of the season.
Virginia is currently ranked fifth in the ACC, behind Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Duke. So far this season, the Cavaliers have lost to three of these teams -- Maryland, Georgia Tech and North Carolina -- 3-2 after forcing a deciding fifth game.
While Virginia routinely has taken the court with enough momentum to keep it neck-and-neck with the best through three or four games, the Cavaliers have been unable to close the deal against a current top-three team all season.
It's safe to say the team's failure to finish against the conference's best talent has been a topic of discussion behind closed doors.
"We are focusing on maintaining a high [in practice]," second-year libero Melissa Caldwell said.
Before the 2005 season, the Cavaliers were predicted to finish third in the ACC, a wish that will only come true if the team can dethrone at least one of the teams that have thwarted it so far this season.
Virginia has shown many stretches of promise, even dominance, over the past few months. Until the team's loss to Georgia Tech Oct. 22, the Cavaliers had won seven straight, including a victory over heavily-favored Duke at Memorial Gym.
Over the next few weeks of the season, the Cavaliers will face seven teams they have already beaten this season, but will also be forced to overcome frustrating memories against Maryland and a season-ending match against Georgia Tech.
Assuming they can continue the kind of play that has marked most of 2005, the Cavaliers will set themselves up to crack the ACC top three, but the team's ultimate success will depend on maintaining momentum against the best in the conference.
Next on Virginia's plate is a Tuesday meeting with Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. After already dispatching the Hokies 3-0 in the opening match of the Commonwealth Challenge, the Cavaliers have gotten a glimpse of Tech but caution against assuming too much.
"We've really got to worry about Virginia Tech right now," coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "They're really tough to play in Cassell Coliseum, which is a big vacuum of air and so the ball just moves. So we're really just going to focus in on them and taking care of business against them."
The game plan for the Cavaliers as they head into the final month of the season seems to be fairly clear: Win the easy ones and save up enough gas to finish against the best. A shot at the ACC title could rest on how well the team can make this happen.
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