Natalie Bausback touched off her Virginia volleyball career in 2012, coming to Charlottesville from Carlsbad, Calif., where she played in the Division II state finals as a senior at La Costa Canyon High School. The Cavaliers’ star middle hitter delivered a team-high 18 kills in that five-set title game, but her Mavericks fell to 42-win Presentation High.
Now a senior, Bausback is no stranger to the collegiate game. She and her classmates — outside hitter Kayla Sears, setter Lauren Fuller and defensive specialist Manon Fuller — have already played through three ACC schedules at Virginia, and they only have one more.
But in their three-plus years at Virginia, Bausback and company have yet to taste the NCAA tournament.
“There’s a lot of things that I want to accomplish, individually and as a team,” Bausback said. “You know, we always talked about wanting to make it to the tournament. And I think now, being a senior, you realize how important every single match is to make it to that goal.”
Bausback and Virginia (9-4, 1-1 ACC) battle conference rivals Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech this weekend, tussling with the Panthers at 7 p.m. Friday and the Hokies 24 hours later. The Cavaliers have a long way to go before tournament time, but a pair of wins certainly couldn’t hurt Virginia’s confidence at this intermediate stage.
The Cavaliers haven’t played at home since Sept. 5, when they dispatched Iowa State and Appalachian State to claim the Cavalier Classic. In the interim they’ve traveled all over — to Tuscaloosa, Ala., Washington, DC and Durham, N.C., where they knocked off Duke for a streak-breaking win at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Virginia had lost 17 consecutive matches against the Blue Devils, and the Cavaliers had not won at Duke since 2003.
“For the program it’s big, and it’s a big step for these kids, because obviously Duke has been one of those programs that has been dominating the ACC,” Virginia coach Dennis Hohenshelt said.
But the going gets no easier in week two of conference play. Pittsburgh (12-3, 2-1 ACC) received four votes in this week’s AVCA poll, and the Panthers have won five of their last six matches.
“Pitt’s really, really good right now,” Hohenshelt said. “Pitt’s interesting [in] that it’s not fancy, but it’s efficient. And so, they have six kids that they really play — actually eight kids, with two setters — so they’re bringing three attackers against us at all times. And they’re just really good, they don’t make a lot of mistakes, and they’re like us — they’re a physical team at the net.”
The Pittsburgh attack includes three players — graduate student outside hitter Kadi Kullerkann, senior middle hitter Amanda Orchard and sophomore outside hitter Mariah Bell — who have posted 100 or more kills this season. Orchard has been particularly strong with her chances, putting down 122 kills while committing just 21 errors.
The Panthers defeated reigning ACC champion North Carolina in straight sets Sunday, which Hohenshelt said indicates how strong the conference is at present.
“This league’s really good right now, and it’s really, really tough to count on wins right now,” Hohenshelt said. “And so, you’re going to have to play really well every weekend — and every night on top of that — and just be on top of your game or else you’re going to lose.”
Virginia Tech (11-4, 2-1 ACC), meanwhile, capped a six-game homestand with a four-set win Wednesday night against the Panthers. Junior outside hitter Lindsey Owens came up big in the victory, registering a 20-kill, 11-dig double-double.
The Hokies beat Virginia last November in Charlottesville, though the Cavaliers came out on top a month earlier in Blacksburg.
“[Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech] are both really good teams,” Bausback said. “So, I mean, honestly we just have to show up and play.”
Virginia Tech, Hohenshelt said, plays a style of volleyball distinct from Pittsburgh’s.
“Tech is relying on these upperclassman right now,” Hohenshelt said. “It’s a little bit different offensively in that we’ll have some hitters going in different directions where Pitt’s just sort of coming straight ahead at you.”
Back at Memorial Gymnasium after a long wait, Bausback and Virginia have two big opportunities this weekend. The team, Bausback said, is glad to be home.
“We’re really excited to be back at home in front of our fans and family,” Bausback said. “We always get a great crowd, and we feed off energy from the crowd, so it’ll be nice to be back.”
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