Sports

Squad

The Lee Maes era began with a bang this past weekend as Virginia?s volleyball team swept the James Madison University Days Inn Invitational to begin its season at 3-0 (0-0 ACC). Maes joined the Cavaliers in February after a search for a coach began in December when Melissa Aldrich Shelton stepped down from the position.The 3-0 start, the first for Virginia since the 2003-4 season, follows a preseason that players and coaches alike described as physically intense.Sophomore right side hitter Kendahl Voelker, who recorded 10 kills in the tournament championship match against James Madison, said the team has been training at a high level under Maes and new assistant coaches Ted Wade and Jill Kramer.?We?re getting it done in the gym,? Voelker said.

Senior linebacker Aaron Clark out for season with knee injury

Virginia athletics has reported senior linebacker Aaron Clark will be out for the rest of the season because of a knee sprain suffered during Saturday?s game against USC.

Virginia

In football, a common saying is that ?It?s not about the Xs and the Os, it?s about the Jimmys and the Joes.? The Jimmys and Joes on California?s team proved far superior to Virginia?s when the Cavaliers lost their season opener 7-52 Saturday.?USC was a big, powerful fast team with superior quarterback play today,? Virginia coach Al Groh said.

Lars takes his game to Europe

The lively Lithuanian is moving on.At a press conference at Blue Ridge School Thursday, former Virginia basketball player Laurynas Mikalauskas, who was kicked off the men?s basketball team last week, took full responsibility for the academic ineligibility that resulted in his dismissal and announced his intention to turn pro overseas.?I could not see myself transferring to another school or playing for another college basketball team,? Mikalauskas said.

Cavaliers start season on losing streak at Kl

After Saturday?s deflating blowout football loss to Southern Cal, Virginia?s sports weekend only got worse Sunday.

Talented freshmen contribute in early victories

Defense was the name of the game at Turf Field this weekend. The Virginia women?s field hockey team put on a suffocating defensive performance, beating William & Mary 5-0 Friday and following that up with a 4-1 victory against Providence Sunday.

Forgivable?

There are many strategies that are preached to David when playing Goliath on the gridiron.?Just keep hanging around for three quarters ? at the end anything can happen.? ?Slow the tempo of the game down and keep the offense off the field.? ?Don?t give up the big play on defense.? ?Take advantage of the opportunities given to you.? ?Lace the other team?s pregame meal with arsenic.? We?ve heard them all.Saturday at Scott Stadium, none of those things happened.

Men

Women

The Virginia women?s volleyball team started its season off on the right foot this past weekend, winning all three matches on the way to claiming the crown at the JMU Days Inn Invitational in Harrisonburg.

Cavaliers host four-team Virginia Soccer Classic

Here is a secret most University students don?t know: The most riveting sports game this weekend may not take place at Scott Stadium.

Six good reasons

I?m a fan ? but I?m very much a realist. I know Southern California is ranked third in the Associated Press poll and second in the USA Today/Coaches poll.

USC brings shower of accolades to Virginia

If Virginia fans don?t have an exact grasp of how good the USC team that Virginia will face Saturday is, let Virginia coach Al Groh put it in simple words.?They have clearly been in a league of their own during the decade of 2000 on,? he said.Over the last six seasons, USC has won two national championships, three Rose Bowls, two Orange Bowls, six straight Pac-10 titles and 70 of 78 games, including a 44-6 record in Pac-10 play.?This is the most talented college football team since when I had to do pre-draft work on the Florida State teams in the middle 90s ? Warrick Dunn, Peter Warrick, Marvin Jones, [Andre] Wadsworth, Reinard Wilson, Samari [Rolle] ? those guys,? Groh said.

No. 11 Virginia sets sights on opening weekend

The Virginia field hockey team opens the 2008 campaign with things old and new.Home games against long-time, in-state rival William & Mary at 2 p.m Friday and against Providence, an opponent the Cavaliers have not faced seen 1992, at 3:30 p.m Sunday at the Turf Field open another season in the young Virginia career of coach Michele Madison.Though the NCAA Tournament sits on the far side of a demanding schedule, the No.

Cavaliers continue quest for perfection

While most University students have been slowly easing themselves into the routine of classes and extracurricular activities, the women?s soccer team has already played two exhibition games and one regular-season game.

Men

The Virginia men?s basketball team travels to Montreal this weekend for a set of three exhibition games against opponents from the area.

Former Cavaliers successful in Olympics

Amazing. Priceless. Interesting. Weird. Star-struck. All of these are adjectives used by former Virginia athletes to describe their experience at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Enough is enough

Saturdays have gotten much more complicated for me.For quite literally my entire life, every Saturday in the fall has been filled with the pomp and circumstance of game day, either at Scott Stadium or huddled around our TV if the Orange and Blue was on the road.

Season kicks off with strong start

For the eighth straight year the Virginia women?s soccer team enters the season ranked in the top three in the ACC, a women?s soccer powerhouse conference.

Basically, a Cruddy System

Imagine you are hiking and you come to a hill. The path goes right over the hill to the other side. Most hikers wouldn?t think twice about going up and then down the hill to the other side.

Veteran leadership key to Virginia

The Virginia women?s field hockey team is looking to veteran leadership to steer an underclassmen-dominated roster.Coach Michele Madison is in her third year coaching at Virginia and 20th year overall after coming from Michigan State.