After this past weekend's double sweep of Maryland and Boston College, it's time for Virginia volleyball to put away the celebration cake. The Cavaliers (19-6, 12-4 ACC) must now begin preparation, both mentally and physically, for a trying contest versus No. 1 Duke (22-3, 15-1 ACC). The team should know what to expect from the Blue Devils, having fallen to them earlier in the season. In fact, it was this Oct. 6 match which ended the Cavaliers' five-game winning streak. The Cavaliers are now out for vengeance. Victory is sweet, but revenge is even sweeter.
Virginia may have a viable shot at victory if key players, such as senior Lindsay Osco, freshman Lauren Dickinson, junior Katie Oakes and sophomore Shannon Davis, step up. Outside hitters Osco and Dickinson stacked up 28 kills and 18 digs combined in Virginia's last meeting with Duke. Oakes and Davis's dual effort at middle gave the Cavaliers 17 kills and 12 blocks.
When Virginia faces Duke this time around, the team must watch out for Duke's central playmakers, Ali Hausfeld and Jourdan Norman. Hausfield led the Blue Devils with 57 assists, and Norman had a match-high eight blocks in the last Cavalier-Blue Devil showdown. Blocking is just one of the Blue Devils' many strengths.
"We know the ACC title is still our main goal for the season, and with how well Duke has played, it is a tough but not impossible goal for us," senior setter Emily Kirkwood said. The team is also preparing for their remaining ACC battles, including matches against Florida State, Miami, Wake Forest, Clemson and Georgia Tech. The team is confident about matches against Georgia Tech and Clemson, both of whom they shut out earlier in the season.
Florida State and Duke are entirely different stories. The Cavaliers were unable to overcome Florida State's dominant offense when the teams met back in October; the Seminoles hit .378. Service errors, however, were the defining setback for the Cavaliers. Virginia recorded 11 service errors in the match -- five coming from the second game alone. At times, serving has been an Achilles heel for Virginia -- the team has registered a season-total 260 service errors, compared with only 173 by opponents. The Cavaliers, however, have totaled 210 service aces, compared with only 112 by opponents.
Questions of the Cavaliers' libero position continue to hang in the air. Presently, Melissa Caldwell and Beth Shelton share this position due to Caldwell's many injuries, including a sprained ankle.
"Melissa Caldwell is injured right now, day to day," Virginia coach Melissa Shelton said. "We're just trying to keep people healthy and go from there."
Shelton remains optimistic about a potential NCAA bid and ACC title. "Mathematically we are still in the hunt," said Shelton, who led the Cavaliers to NCAA Tournament appearances in back-to-back seasons in 1998 and 1999. "We need to take care of our business and win all the matches we can. I believe our conference will send at least two teams. Our chances of coming in first and second, we probably have a 50-50 shot right now, and we just have to prove to the committee that we deserve a bid."
The Cavaliers travel to Tallahassee, Fla. Friday to take on No. 4 Florida State.
Read More
Volleyball holds off Boston College in tight five-set win
By Lauren Halak | 14 hours agoSenior outside hitter Elayna Duprey led the team throughout the match with 22 points and 18 kills.
Virginia annihilated 41-14 in a must-win contest versus North Carolina
By Peter Kriebel | YesterdayJust about everything that could have gone wrong for Virginia football went wrong.
No. 24 women’s soccer not to be denied in late win over Clemson
By Sam Chun | 2 days agoThe Cavaliers topped Clemson 1-0 in front of a packed out Klöckner Stadium.
