The Virginia women's volleyball team does not want to be the first ACC team to fall to N.C. State this season. The Cavaliers will hit the road this weekend for the final time this season, traveling to Raleigh to face the Wolfpack at 7 p.m. Thursday before heading down Tobacco Road to Chapel Hill for a match against North Carolina Friday.
Virginia (15-10, 10-6 ACC) comes into the match off of a 1-1 weekend at home, sweeping 24th-ranked Clemson before falling in five games to Georgia Tech. The Cavaliers stand in fourth place in the conference.
N.C. State (3-23, 0-16 ACC) comes into the match on a 22-match losing streak, including being swept last weekend by Maryland and Boston College. This does not mean, however, that the Wolfpack have been blown out of every match. They have taken games from ACC leader Duke and also from third place Georgia Tech.
"They have been pushing people all year long," Virginia coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "Even though they haven't won a match, they've won some games and they're losing a lot of games by two points. So I don't think anyone is overlooking them."
Throughout the ACC season, Virginia has played well in game one of its weekend series, where the Cavaliers are 7-0. In the second game of the weekend, on the other hand, Virginia is a measly 2-5, something Shelton has been trying to remedy.
"I'm really not sure," Shelton said about her team's second-game woes. "We are working on it, just trying to keep the chemistry together, trying to keep the effort together. It's hard for us to do right now. We are hoping that our game just keeps evolving and keeps going and everybody keeps stepping up."
Leading the Cavaliers Thursday night will be senior All-American outside hitter Sarah Kirkwood, who ranks third in the ACC in kills (4.49 per game) and service aces with 55 on the season. Setting Kirkwood up will be freshman setter Kelly Irvin who has made her way onto the ACC leaderboard, standing tenth with 7.95 assists per game. Irvin has become more confident as the season has gone on.
"In the beginning, I was just getting comfortable with my hitters and having the hitters get comfortable with me," Irvin said. "After a few months of working with them, I think they have more confidence in me that I can get them the ball."
Starting at the other outside hitter position will be freshman Kendahl Voelker who has filled in nicely for injured sophomore Lauren Dickson.
"Starting as a freshman, it is really difficult," Voelker said. "Through experience and playing a lot in the games, I have adjusted a lot better, especially with my hitting."
Heading up the defensive effort will be senior middle Katie Oakes and senior libero Melissa Caldwell. Oakes ranks seventh in the ACC in blocks (1.24 per game) and Caldwell is seventh in the league in digs (4.48 per game). Caldwell is also sneaking up on Virginia's career digs list, needing only 43 to break the record.
Leading the way for N.C. State will be freshman setter Alex Smith, whose 8.37 assists per game are good enough for ninth in the conference, as well as freshman opposite side Lauren Zaniboni who leads the team with 3.13 kills per game.
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