After an up-and-down weekend, befitting of the first half of their ACC season, the Cavaliers will kick off the second half of their schedule against Clemson and Georgia Tech this weekend.
The Cavaliers (13-10, 5-6 ACC) rank ninth of 12 in the parity-filled ACC this year, while Clemson and Georgia Tech rank third and fifth, respectively. While they may be statistical underdogs, if the Cavaliers have learned something in the last week, it’s that anything can happen.
After a huge win against then-ACC leader Miami, the Cavaliers suffered a letdown against Florida State, losing in straight sets. Now, they are out for a measure of revenge against Clemson and Georgia Tech, to whom they lost during two close matches in late September. The Clemson loss was particularly devastating for the team; the Cavaliers led with a two-set advantage only to lose the next three sets and, consequently, the match.
“I think that [revenge] definitely plays into it. I know we’re excited to play but these are two really good teams that we were very close to last time,” junior outside hitter Tara Hester said. “It was a tough weekend for us so a second time around we’re really hoping to take them down.”
Looking forward to the second half of their season, the players are optimistic that this series of ACC matches will be more successful.
“I think we’re getting better at being more consistent in general and we’re playing better as the season goes on,” freshman outside hitter Simone Asque said. “I feel like we have some confidence that we know that we can do it; we just have to put in our effort to be consistent the whole way.”
The Cavaliers are also hoping experience will contribute to second-half success now that they have faced each team once.
“We’re excited to get another opportunity to play Clemson and Georgia Tech, especially now since we have some familiarity with their style of play — what worked against them the first time and what didn’t work,” coach Lee Maes said.
The players are also more comfortable together this time around as a result of 11 ACC matches and a lot of practice.
“We’ve been working hard on staying disciplined and working together and minimizing errors,” Hester said. “It’s just been our focus in practice, definitely these past few weeks, to find a level of consistency because [we] have been a little up and down.”
The Cavaliers will need to be on their A-game this weekend because, as Maes noted, both teams have some very athletic players. Clemson, which won the ACC volleyball championship in 2007, poses a particularly steep challenge.
“First and foremost, their biggest threat is Danielle Hepburn, who is just very, very difficult to stop,” Maes said. “She’s just bigger, jumps higher and has an outstanding ability to terminate. She’s also the leading blocker in the conference as well as one of the top blockers in the country.”
The Cavaliers, however, are hoping history is on their side.
“We had the huge upset last year,” senior setter Marlow Bruneau said. “Clemson had the undefeated season, and we were the only team to beat them last year so we’re hoping to beat them this year.”
The Cavaliers also have played some of their best volleyball of late, particularly against Miami, and they feel they are close to firing on all cylinders.
“I definitely think we’ve evolved since the first time we played them,” junior libero Brittani Rendina said. “The glimpses of volleyball you saw against Miami were really encouraging, and I think if we can do that consistently, that’s where our team needs to be.”
If there is a key to the matches this weekend and to the rest of the ACC season ahead, it is consistency.
“There will be glimpses of it, and then it just goes away really quickly,” Asque said. “I think we’re getting better at being more consistent in general and we’re playing better as the season goes on.”
A major key for the Cavaliers’ success is senior middle hitter Shannon Davis, who will go for an individual milestone this weekend. Davis will attempt to become just the fifth player in Cavalier history to get 1,000 kills and 400 blocks in her career. She has more than 1,000 kills and needs only two blocks to reach the mark.
The second half of the season will be a chance for revenge and success for the Cavaliers, and it all starts Friday.
“I feel like we’re now a little more in system,” Bruneau said. “We have a little more team cohesion going on and we’re ready to take it to them, too.”
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