After dropping its first three ACC matchups, the Virginia volleyball team faces two more conference competitors this weekend. The Cavaliers are on a four-game losing streak and travel to Maryland Friday and Boston College Sunday in search of their first regular season win.
Last weekend, Virginia (6-7, 0-3 ACC) lost in straight sets to Florida State and Miami, teams that currently rank second and third, respectively, in the conference.
The Cavaliers held tight during several sets against each team, but ultimately lost their matches' decisive points.
"After that, we told our team that we're always going to be a work in progress," coach Lee Maes said. "We just didn't expect that we've gotten to a point here in the ACC where we are continually making the same mistakes that we had a week earlier."
The Cavaliers are not only repeating their mistakes but are also backpedaling from their season's earlier success. Virginia finished 6-3 in tournament play but dropped its next four matches.\nFriday night, Virginia will look to regain its footing against Maryland. And while the Cavaliers may have floundered recently, the Terrapins (8-7, 2-1 ACC) come off a dominating win against N.C. State, in which they tallied 41 kills.
Last year, Virginia split two matches against Maryland, winning at College Park but then losing later during the season at home.
Sunday, the Cavaliers take on the only other team without a conference win, Boston College (4-10, 0-3 ACC). The Eagles have dropped in straight sets to North Carolina, N.C. State and Maryland this year. Last year, Virginia celebrated its senior day by sweeping the Eagles, handing Boston College its 15th straight conference loss of the season.
As a team that currently sits in its conference cellar, however, Virginia will not look past Boston College solely because of its record.
"I think all of us just want to win; we're going to want to do anything we can to win this week," freshman right side hitter Tori Janowski said. "I definitely expect both the teams to be just as good as the teams we played this weekend so we're not going to treat them any differently."
Virginia has adopted a 'win at all costs' mentality because the team realizes that an early conference hole is not insurmountable. Consequently, the Cavaliers refuse to feel down about their rough stretch, knowing victories can always jumpstart success.
"I'm not so much worried about the morale - I'm worried more about identifying what we can improve and the morale is going to take care of itself," Maes said. "We know that they're going to feel good about the improvements and knowing that it's going to give us an opportunity to compete against Maryland and Boston College"
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