The Virginia women's volleyball team took the court for the final time last week, splitting its final conference series with No. 24 Duke and Wake Forest.
The Cavaliers (18-13, 13-9 ACC) fell to the Blue Devils 3-1 last Wednesday before defeating Wake Forest (8-23, 5-17 ACC) 3-2 Friday night. Virginia was 1-6 in five-game matches during conference play coming into the matchup with the Demon Deacons.
"It's nice to finally break our fifth-game curse," Virginia coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "We would have liked to win it in three, but we'll take it any way we can get it."
It was the last match in a Cavalier uniform for seniors Sarah Kirkwood, Katie Oakes, Melissa Caldwell and Taylor Russo.
"I've been playing the mental denial game all day," Kirkwood said of her last match. "So I'm sure in a couple weeks it will settle in, but as of right now, my mind is thinking that I will be coming back in the spring and playing next fall."
Kirkwood led the Cavaliers Friday night with a match-high 28 kills. Oakes recorded 16 kills and five blocks while Caldwell led the defensive effort with 25 digs.
"They have definitely left their mark in the record book," Shelton said of the seniors. "Three of them have some of the highest accolades you can have, but all four have been huge contributors to our success."
Kirkwood ends her career as Virginia's all-time kills and service aces leader, while Caldwell finishes atop the career digs list. Oakes ends near the top of the career blocks list while also tallying her 1,000th kill Friday night.
"It was really important for us to end on a good note," Kirkwood said. "We've had some ups and downs this year. We've definitely had our share of bad luck, so we wanted to go out making some sort of statement."
While there were many individual accomplishments throughout the year, Virginia still hoped for a better finish that would have ultimately led to a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999.
"I would have liked to have finished higher," Shelton said. "We've been through a lot of ropes this season with injuries and illnesses."
The Cavaliers battled this season, no one can deny that; however, Virginia had trouble closing out weekend series and five-game matches. The Cavaliers registered a 9-1 record in the first match of its conference series while going 3-7 in the second match, and Virginia's 2-6 record in conference matches lasting five games definitely leaves the team with a few "what ifs."
"The frustrating thing is that I think we had the potential to win a lot more matches," Shelton said. "When you lose six of them in five games, you know you can win those six."
Even with the departure of such an accomplished senior class, Virginia has much to look forward to next season.
"We definitely have a ton to build on for next year," Shelton said. "We are one of the few ACC teams that plays three freshmen all the time, and our sophomore class looked really good. Everything is looking good for next year"
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