The Virginia volleyball team did just about as expected on a road trip up the East Coast this weekend.
On their first stop, in College Park to face a strong Maryland team, the Cavaliers (16-9) fell 3-1 to the Terrapins -- and, as predicted, blocking and kills made the difference.
"Blocking is going to be a huge issue against Maryland," outside hitter Emily Perilli said before the team headed north.
Sure enough, although three of Virginia's starters racked up double figures in kills, the Terps' 26 block assists combined with a .323 hitting percentage were enough to stop the Cavaliers short. The loss snapped Virginia's two-match winning streak while extending the Terps' current streak to nine.
After sleeping off the setback, coach Melissa Shelton and the Cavaliers packed their bags and headed north once again to Eagle country.
Against struggling Boston College, the Cavaliers were able to settle down into their normally balanced offensive attack. With five players registering eight or more kills, Virginia cruised to a 3-0 victory at Power Gym, improving its conference record to 11-5 and securing third place in the ACC standings.
"[Setter] Emily Kirkwood has done a great job of spreading the ball around and getting everyone involved in the offense," Shelton said.
Houston native Lindsay Osco led the Cavaliers with 11 kills Saturday, and was joined by sophomores Sarah Kirkwood and Katie Oakes, who each added 10 kills of their own.
Osco was also able to save her team single-handedly during a tense second game. Trailing the Eagles 25-19, the outside-hitter led the Cavaliers on a 9-1 run, slamming six kills including the game-winner.
In the front court, junior setter Emily Kirkwood gave the Boston crowd a glimpse of her versatility, racking up 39 assists, five digs, three blocks, two service aces and two kills against the Eagles.
Defense, which Shelton has stressed all season, was once again a positive for the Cavaliers in their second match of the road trip. Virginia was able to rebound from Friday's struggle against the Terps, holding Boston College to a .088 hitting percentage and out-hitting the Eagles 51-40.
Once the Cavaliers return to Memorial Gymnasium for practice this week, a certain sense of finality will be in the air. After three months, 25 matches and hundreds of hours of practice, the season has come down to the final six contests. Virginia will host two more home stands and take one more road trip before finishing the double-round-robin ACC schedule.
"The ACC outcome isn't entirely in our hands because all the teams have at least six more games to play," Shelton said. "But I feel that if we do well in the rest of our schedule and somebody beats North Carolina, we could make a run for second place. If not, we'll try and hang on to third."
Although Virginia stuck to the script against two ACC rivals this weekend, Shelton and the rest of the Cavaliers hope the final few weeks include a pleasant surprise or two as the conference schedule draws to a close.
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