At first glance, it might seem that the Virginia women's volleyball team should be preparing for a season of rebuilding. Missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1997, last year's Cavaliers finished 16-15 overall and 8-8 ACC, and this year's roster lists only four juniors and seniors.
Unfazed by concerns about their team's youthful appearance, Virginia volleyball players form one of the most eager and talented squads on Grounds, looking to take aim in 2001 not only at the ACC, but at the upper echelons of the NCAA. This weekend the team will have its first test as it hosts the Jefferson Cup Invitational at University Hall. The tournament starts today at 12:30 p.m. when Virginia matches up against Radford.
"I'm really pleased with where the team is right now," Virginia coach Melissa Shelton said." Our preseason has gone very well and we're prepared to play. We are very focused on being the best team we can be, realizing our potential and living up to our own expectations."
Regarding the team's youth, Shelton said that age may deceive and match experience is the true measure of athletic maturity.
"When you look at all of our players, I think you see a lot of experience at a very high level," Shelton said. "We have a lot of depth back. I think our sophomore class is definitely the most experienced sophomore class in the conference, and with their experiences and all the matches we are going to put under our belts, I don't think that inexperienced or young is really a term for us."
This year's sophomores entered the University heralded as one of the nation's top recruiting classes, and in their first season they quickly moved into a host of open positions and made their presence felt. Setter Abby Whittenburg, middle Shannon Boyle, outside hitters Katie Synan and Paige Davis, and defensive specialist Whitney Ashcraft all will be in the starting lineup this season. Ashcraft will have the added responsibility of sharing the captain position with senior outside hitter Jenny Harmon.
"Whitney and I have aimed to lead by example," Harmon said. "Whitney is an incredibly strong person both physically and mentally. She always puts 100 percent in every day, and I've tried to do that as well. We've tried to stay positive and to take our game up to the next level, pushing a bit further when we are having a good practice."
Joining Boyle in the middle will be junior Simona Kuipers, forming a tandem that Shelton said is the hardest working in the ACC.
"No two people work as hard every single day - day in and day out - as those two do," Shelton added. "They're amazing. With more experience under her belt, Shannon could be the best middle blocker in the ACC by the end of the season. She's phenomenal."
Beyond the starting seven, another stellar class of entering freshmen has deepened the Cavalier bench. Although they might not see as much immediate playing time as their sophomore counterparts, the increasing quality of Virginia's freshmen has impacted both the team's on-court play and game plan.
"At practice, the level of competition is so much higher," Harmon said. "When we scrimmage, it's fierce, aggressive, and more like game-like situations. People are always fighting for playing time, and it's a good environment to be in."
The Cavaliers' talent and resolve will be put to test immediately this season, as they open a grueling schedule at home this weekend when they host Radford and top 15 powers Minnesota and Stanford. This fall will see Virginia play seven other teams that appeared in last year's NCAA tournament, including three in the ACC.
"Our conference is tough this year, probably the toughest the ACC has ever been," Shelton said. "Our team's season has to focus on conference play, because it's through how you do in your conference that you win your NCAA bid. We knew that we had to schedule out-of-conference opponents that were very tough."
Although the schedule might appear daunting, Harmon said the players are ready to face the challenges ahead.
"It's really exciting knowing that we're coming in playing two teams ranked in the top 15 in the country, just to test ourselves," she said. "We've been working really hard these last two and a half weeks and to have these opening three matches be very challenging, it'll kind of show us where we are and where we need to go as a team"
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