After finishing this weekend's Jefferson Cup Tournament with one win and two losses, the Virginia women's volleyball team will look to even its record against rival Virginia Tech (1-2) at University Hall tonight.
Last year Virginia Tech competed as independents and finished the season 13-16. This season they moved up to the Big East Conference and were picked to place eighth in the conference in preseason polls.
The Hokies face Virginia after Western Carolina swept them from the Catamount Clash II Tournament on Saturday. Virginia Tech junior Sara Rogers, who was named to the all-tournament team, will be a key player to watch during the game. Virginia also will have to find a way to stop Hokie freshman Annie Spicer, who recorded eight kills and three blocks against Western Carolina. Virginia Tech coach Greg Smith has high hopes for the Hokies this season and is looking to rediscover the successful five-game winning streak that capped their 2000 season.
The Cavaliers hope that a large home crowd will help them extend the Hokies' current losing streak.
"It's exciting to have them at home," Virginia coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "Hopefully we'll get a good crowd, get enough people in the stands to make a difference. Virginia Tech is a big rivalry for us. They're a good team."
Virginia sophomore Shannon Boyle will be a presence in the back row against the Hokies. The 6-foot-2 middle was recently moved to the back row and has proved to be a powerful defensive digger and passer. She was the only Cavalier named to the Jefferson Cup all-tournament team this weekend after an eight-kill performance against Minnesota on Saturday. Boyle and senior co-captain Jenny Harmon each had six digs last game.
Other Cavaliers to watch include Katie Synan, who also recorded eight kills against the Golden Gophers.
"Anytime you play Virginia Tech they're going to play the best game of their lives," Harmon said. "It's going to be a tough match, but I'm very confident in the team and in our ability to win on Tuesday. We've been working a little bit on our hitting and blocking, but if we play like we played against Stanford [on Friday] I don't think that we'll have any problems."
Despite being plagued by inconsistent play during the tournament, Virginia has been practicing hard and has seen improvement in its passing. The Cavaliers devoted yesterday's practice to improving offensive rhythm, the weakest facet of Virginia's game.
"I do believe that we are more physical than [Virginia Tech is] right now, maybe even a little bit more experienced," Shelton said. "That will be to our advantage. There's really not a team that will allow us to make mistakes on our schedule, so we're going to have to play good volleyball"
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