After stealing a thrilling match on the road last weekend from ACC foe Florida State, the Virginia volleyball team returns home Thursday night to face the only team keeping them from winning the ACC title. The Duke Blue Devils (24-3, 17-1 ACC) will look to defend their ACC lead against the red-hot Cavaliers (21-6, 14-4), who have won eight matches in a row.
In Virginia, Duke will face a team that is much different from the team they beat 3-1 earlier this season in Durham. When the Cavaliers lost to the Blue Devils Oct. 6, they featured a lineup that has changed greatly from the one that has been favored over the past eight matches. During their previous match-up, junior outside hitter Sarah Kirkwood was still returning slowly after a bout of mono and the libero situation was unclear.
"When we played Duke the first time, I was coming back from mono and we didn't have a set lineup," Kirkwood said, "But we've gotten a lot more confident in the last eight wins. We didn't have it that weekend so we're going into it with sort of a chip on our shoulders."
Despite the roster changes, Virginia will still have to play nearly flawless volleyball to secure a win over a very consistent Duke team.
"They do not give you points," Virginia coach Melissa Shelton said. "Their ball is going to the target a lot. They also have one of the best setters in the conference. We're also expecting an incredibly awesome defensive match."
Defensively, the Cavaliers will have to counter with numerous offensive threats from Duke including Carrie DeMange, who is averaging 4.2 kills a game and hitting .291.
With three players averaging over three kills again, the Virginia offense is a potent threat in and of itself. While the return of Kirkwood has no doubt bolstered the offense over the past eight wins, one person whose contributions cannot be overlooked is freshman Lauren Dickson, who is averaging 3.43 kills a game.
With the wins over Florida State and Miami last weekend, Virginia has solidified its second-place standing in the ACC. After Thursday's match-up with Duke, there are only three ACC regular season matches left for Virginia. Mathematically, Virginia is still in the hunt for the title, but if they are to succeed they will need help from other teams. A win versus Duke is almost required for this to happen and could be pivotal in convincing the NCAA selection committee that the Cavaliers deserve a bid to the tournament.
"We've been extremely focused this week at practice," Kirkwood said. "We're practicing with a purpose."
The Cavaliers will have their eye on the prize when they take the court against Duke. Undoubtedly, the Cavaliers know what it will take to beat a Duke team that has dominated the ACC this season, but they aren't backing down.
"It's going to be a long match regardless of how many games we play," Shelton said. "It's going to be a fun one with a lot of great rallies."
Tip-off is 7 p.m. Thursday night in Memorial Gymnasium.
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