The Virginia volleyball team will close out its season on the road beginning this weekend against Wake Forest and Duke.
The Cavaliers (13-14, 7-10 ACC) are coming off a two-loss weekend during which they dropped matches against Clemson, 3-1, and Georgia Tech, 3-0.
Facing Clemson Friday night, Virginia took the first set but was unable to overcome a strong surge by the Tigers.
"One of the things that you have to take into consideration in competitive sports is the fact that when someone loses, especially when they are hosting the match, they're going to compete, and they're going to find ways to get better," Virginia coach Lee Maes said.
During the Georgia Tech match, the Cavaliers came close in two sets but were unable to win the critical points to close them out.
"With Georgia Tech, I think there was a lack of focus at specific times, and on defense I think some people weren't focused," sophomore setter Rachel Gray said. "It was a little inconsistent at the wrong times."
The Cavaliers are looking for redemption after losing to both Wake Forest and Duke at home a month ago.
In the first match against Wake Forest (17-11, 9-8 ACC), Virginia started off well, winning the first set. The team faltered, however, and subsequently dropped the final three sets. In the loss, junior outside hitter Simone Asque tallied 28 kills, senior defensive specialist A.J Cushman had a career-high 31 digs and freshman outside hitter McKenzie Adams blocked nine attacks.
"We need to put ourselves in the same position in terms of how much effort we displayed and having some of our players have the same level of performance," Maes said. "However, individuals don't win games so we need to try to get a number of people to show up, and hopefully at the same time."
Tomorrow night, Virginia will try for its first win against Duke (22-5, 14-3 ACC) in four seasons. No current Virginia player has recorded a win against the Blue Devils.
"We're pumped up, we want to beat Duke so bad," senior right side hitter Kendahl Voelker said.
Against Duke during their prior meeting in October, the Cavaliers recorded 12 service errors and barely hit 5 percent. Duke leads the conference and boasts a very strong defense in addition to boasting the best setter in the conference.
"They probably aren't going to be expecting much from us, and they're probably going to think it's an automatic win because it's at home and just the way we played last time," sophomore setter Rachel Gray said. "But we're going to show them that's not how it's going to be, and it's not going to be easy."
First serve is slated for 7 p.m. tonight at Wake Forest followed by a Saturday night 7 p.m. match against Duke.
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