After a dominating performance at home last weekend against the lower tier of the ACC, Virginia's volleyball team looks to carry its momentum this weekend into North Carolina as it takes on Wake Forest and Duke.
The Cavaliers (12-7, 7-3 ACC) face the Demon Deacons (7-12, 4-6 ACC) tonight at 7 p.m. in Winston-Salem before heading down tobacco road to Durham for their showdown with the seventeenth ranked Blue Devils Saturday night.
Virginia enters the weekend having won four of its last five matches, including two impressive victories at home this past weekend against N.C. State and North Carolina where the offense seemed to be running on all cylinders.
With starting sophomore outside hitter Lauren Dickson still expected to see limited action this weekend, Virginia will once again need someone to step up alongside All-American senior outside hitter Sarah Kirkwood to shoulder the attacking load.
"In previous weekends, I was getting the majority of the sets and I was doing what I could with them," Kirkwood said. "But it's very easy for a team to shut down one person. We have to let them know that if they are going to focus on me, there's going to be another person right there ready to step up."
Stepping up last weekend for the Cavaliers were senior middle Katie Oakes, junior middle Shannon Davis, sophomore outside hitter Tara Hester and freshman right-side hitter Kendahl Voelker.
"We have to have that balance," Virginia coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "It starts off with our passing. If we pass, then we can achieve that balance by setting Shannon, Katie and Kendahl more. Tara, last weekend, had a little easier job because our passing was so strong, so it took some of the pressure off her. We didn't have to feed every ball outside and we have to be able to do that to win."
Freshman setter Kelly Irvin will be responsible for getting the ball to all of Virginia's weapons. In the past few weeks, Irvin has stepped up and played well consistently, enabling the offense to find its rhythm.
Wake Forest, on the other hand, has lost its last three matches in a brutal stretch where it has faced the conference elite. After this weekend's match against Virginia, the Demon Deacons will have played against the top four conference teams in as many matches.
This tough stretch for Wake Forest, however, does not mean the Cavaliers will be overlooking the Demon Deacons.
"We're not overconfident," Shelton said. "We know we can play well and compete with anyone in the conference. Wake and Duke are two very good teams. They have very good offenses. Both are very fast, and both play great defense. There are a lot of similarities, so we have our hands full. I think we are just looking forward to two great matches."
Leading the way for Wake Forest are junior middle Jessica Furlong and outside hitter Natalie Mullikin. Both are in the top 10 in the ACC in kills per game and points per game.
With the offense finding its rhythm as of late, Virginia simply needs to play its game and utilize all of its offensive options to come out of North Carolina with two victories.
"For us right now, we have to know that we can go into this weekend and come out 0-2 or 2-0," Kirkwood said. "Which ever one happens is definitely up to us. We showed this past weekend that if we take care of our side of the net then good things will happen"
Read More
Phenomenal pitching lifts Virginia softball to crucial road victory over No. 8 Florida State
By Ben McNiff | 6 hours agoWhen people look back on this specific iteration of Cavalier softball, they will remember this 2-0 victory on the road.
Live tracker: the men’s basketball offseason
By Michael Liebermann , Emory Huffman and Xander Tilock | 20 hours agoA frenetic offseason likely awaits.
Virginia is getting ‘better and better,’ and it was all on display against Syracuse
By Michael Liebermann | YesterdayVirginia did almost everything right in its best performance of the season.
