Volleyball
What: Virginia (4-7, 0-0 ACC) vs. No. 19 Florida State (6-2, 0-0 ACC)
Where: Tully Gymnasium in Tallahassee, Fla.
When: Friday, 6:30 p.m.
The Skinny: The Virginia women’s volleyball team will begin its ACC conference schedule with an away match against Florida State Friday.
The Cavaliers recently returned from the Central Florida Tournament, dropping two matches to Central Florida, both with a score of 3-0.
Jelena Novakovic, a sophomore right side hitter from Belgrade, Serbia, led the Cavaliers in kills in both matches, with nine in the first and 12 in the second. Novakovic transferred to Virginia from Penn State this year. Freshman outside hitter Alex Spencer added five kills in the first match and six in the second.
Virginia had a hitting percentage of .178 and .148 in the two matches, respectively, compared to Central Florida’s hitting percentage of .360 and .359.
Florida State enters Friday’s match following a 3-0 loss to third-ranked Florida on the road in the Fresh From Florida Sunshine Showdown. Despite the loss, junior setter Brianne Burkert had her 20th career double-double with 25 assists and 14 digs for the Seminoles.
After facing Florida State, the Cavaliers will have another road match at Miami Sunday.
Golf
What: The Seventh Annual Northern Intercollegiate
Where: Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.
When: Sunday-Monday
The Skinny: The Virginia men’s golf team will look to bounce back in the Northern Intercollegiate this weekend after a second-to-last finish in the Carpet Capital Collegiate two weeks ago.
The Cavaliers will be competing with 11 other collegiate teams at Rich Harvest Farms, which hosted the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Championship to complete the 2016-17 season. After placing 10th in the Championship last season, Virginia’s experience on the course should prove beneficial this weekend.
In addition to the Cavaliers, top contenders this year include Iowa State and Purdue, both of which also competed in the NCAA Championship in May. Their familiarity with Rich Harvest Farms may give these squads an advantage.
Virginia had three qualifying rounds to decide this weekend’s team. Senior Danny Walker, junior Thomas Walsh, sophomores Andrew Orischak and Ashton Poole and freshman Jimmie Massie will be competing as a team. Freshman Wei Wei Gao will play as an individual.
Walker showed promise in the first tournament of the season, the Carpet Capital Collegiate, as he finished 31st overall and first for Virginia. He posted scores of 73 (one-over) on the first round, 69 (three-under) on the second round and 77 (five-over) on the third round. Despite his impressive performance, Virginia finished 14th out of 15 teams. In the seventh annual Northern Intercollegiate, the Cavaliers will rely on Walker’s leadership and experience for a strong showing.
Golfers will play 36 holes Sunday with a shotgun start at 8:15 a.m., followed by 18 holes Monday with tee times starting at 7:45 a.m.
Cross Country
What: Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational
When: Men: Saturday, 9 a.m., Women: Saturday, 10 a.m.
Where: Panorama Farms, Earlysville, Va.
The Skinny: Saturday’s Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational will be the second meet of the season for both the men’s and women’s cross-country teams. The first meet, the U.Va. Duals, also took place at Panorama Farms.
For both the men’s and women’s teams, performance at U.Va. Duals included a number of notable individual performances. The men’s team, ranked No. 15 in the latest USTFCCCA poll, defeated Norfolk State and lost to Liberty at the duals. Sophomores Ari Klau and Matthew Novak were the top two individual finishers in the race. The women’s team beat Liberty in the race and lost to James Madison. In the U.Va. Duals, senior Frances Schmiede had the fastest individual time.
Virginia will look to build off of these impressive performances while trying to win the Invitational, a meet that Brigham Young won last year for both men and women. This will be the Cavaliers’ last race until Oct. 13, when they travel to Madison, Wis. for the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational.
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