The Virginia women's volleyball team has dominated James Madison in recent years, winning 10 of the last 11 competitions. Last night was nothing new for the Cavaliers as they handed the Dukes their first loss of the season in three straight games, 15-12, 15-7 and 15-10.
"We were really excited to win in three straight," Cav coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "JMU is in the same district as us, so it is important to beat all the teams in that conference that we can. It is gonna say a lot to the district ranking committee if we do well in the conference."
The Cavaliers (3-1) were coming off a second place showing in the Jefferson Cup Tournament, while the Dukes (3-1) entered tonight's contest fresh off their season-opening JMU Classic championship.
Virginia opened the match with a tight 15-12 win in the first game. At one point in the game, the Cavs put together a nine-point run to give them an 11-4 lead.
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James Madison fell apart in the second game as Virginia, behind offensive powerhouses Deanna Zwarich and Paige Davis, stomped the Dukes, 15-7.
The momentum from the first two games carried over into the third, as Virginia again won, 15-10, clinching the match.
Even with a three-game sweep, Shelton wasn't completely satisfied with her team's play.
"I didn't think we played as well as we could have against JMU," Shelton said. "We just didn't seem as smooth."
Virginia's Zwarich entered the game four kills shy of the 1,000-mark plateau. She not only got her four kills needed but tallied 18 on the night, plus six digs and two blocks.
"I knew I was close to 1,000 kills, but I wasn't sure exactly how many I needed," Zwarich said. "I remember when [former Cav star] Amy Mitchell got her 1,000th kill [in 1997] and it seemed like a pretty big deal then."
Like Zwarich, senior Katie Jones also reached the millennium mark. Jones' six digs gave her exactly 1,000 career digs.
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"I think that the team played a lot smoother against JMU" than over the weekend, Jones said. "We didn't seem as nervous or jittery."
The Cavaliers return to the courts Friday and Saturday at the Xavier Tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio, where they will face Middle Tennessee State, Xavier and Western Michigan.
"The Xavier tournament is gonna be a big test," Shelton said. "We will be the tallest and best offensive team there. So we will have to concentrate on our blocking and digging to get the job done in Ohio"
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