The Virginia volleyball team will finish off the non-conference portion of its schedule this weekend when the Cavaliers head to San Diego to face Oklahoma, San Diego and UC Santa Barbara. The Oklahoma match is set to kick off the weekend Friday night before the two Saturday matches.
In the Jefferson Cup tournament last weekend, Virginia came out strong, going 2-1 over the course of the weekend. In three close matches, the Cavaliers defeated Norfolk State and Temple but fell 3-0 to Arkansas.
This weekend the Cavaliers face a team that reached the NCAA Sweet 16, a team ranked 18th in the NCAA National Division I Coaches Poll and a team with a star player averaging 5.38 kills per game. These obstacles combined will make this weekend one of the hardest of the season.
"It is the toughest non-conference weekend of the year," Virginia coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "We just need to work out a few kinks and work on a few things. Hopefully our sick kids are going to feel 100 percent soon, and we are going to have a full roster for San Diego."
Illnesses in last weekend's meet led the Cavaliers to fall short of their highest potential. Players who were out last weekend are expected to be back at the top of their health, giving Virginia an edge it did not have before.
Senior outside hitter Sarah Kirkwood looks forward to this weekend with an eye on the record book. Last weekend, she added up a total of 59 kills, making her total for the season 102. At this point, she is only seven kills away from Virginia's record for most kills in a career, a record currently held by 2000 graduate Deanna Zwarich. Kirkwood is expected to easily pass the record this weekend.
The last of the non-conference meets means that in next week's matches, Virginia will finally get the opportunity to face ACC opponents, with Virginia Tech being the first Sept. 14.
"I think the team is playing great," freshman setter Kelly Irvin said. "I am really excited for the rest of the season."?
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