With all seven starters returning, the Virginia volleyball team has a clear goal for this season: to win an ACC title. The Cavaliers, who finished last season 20-11, have bounced back from barely missing the cut for the NCAA Tournament last season and are determined to finish on top this year.
The Cavaliers were picked to finish second by conference's twelve head coaches in the ACC preseason poll. Virginia received three first place votes.
"We have no excuses for why we shouldn't win the ACC title," junior hitter Sarah Kirkwood said.
The team this year is lead once again by the Kirkwood sisters, senior Emily and junior Sarah.
"I want to be the leader of the team," senior Emily Kirkwood said. In "my position as a setter, you have to step into a leadership role right away. But for my fourth year, I just really want to step up the leadership, keep up the talking, keep the motivation high and be a leader."
Her sister Sarah, an Academic All-American, shares her commitment to leadership.
"I think the team needs someone who can go and give a high level performance every match and count on me to play well and not go through ups and downs during the course of the game but maintain an even keel," Sarah Kirkwood said. "I think that goes back to what it means to be a leader."
This commitment to leadership extends to the entire fourth year class and is the basis for their determination to win.
"That whole [senior] class has determined that this is the year we are getting back to NCAAs," Virginia coach Melissa Shelton said.
Giving this year's team the added edge over teams in years past is their dominating net attack.
"I think we have more of a punch on the left side antennas, and I think we're more outside dominated than middle dominated," Shelton said.
To make it to the NCAA Tournament, the Cavaliers will have to rely not only on their characteristically strong offense but also on their steadily improving defense.
"Our attack is so strong, if we can get the ball to Emily [Kirkwood] and have options at the net then our attack is unstoppable," Sarah Kirkwood said. "So all we need to do is get the ball to our hitters and that starts from first contact and defense. So you kind of have to lay the foundation with defense and our offense will carry us throughout the rest of the game."
Also essential for the Cavaliers is staying injury-free. The 2005 Cavaliers suffered from multiple injuries to their starting seven, which proved to be too much to overcome in the pursuit of an NCAA bid.
"We had a lot of holes to fill last year," Shelton said. "But this year we have all starters returning, and any team that wins a championship has to get lucky with injuries, so hopefully we'll stay healthy."
Overall the outlook for the 2006 Cavaliers is positive. In the end, the Cavaliers themselves will determine the final outcome.
"The only thing that can keep us from that is ourselves," Sarah Kirkwood said. "There is no other opponent out there that we shouldn't be able to handle in the ACC, and it will be our side of the net that determines it."
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