After a disappointing October in which the Virginia women's volleyball team won only one out of 10 matches, the Cavaliers hope that November will be their month. The squad (7-20, 1-10 ACC) will face two conference rivals this weekend, Wake Forest at 5 p.m. on Saturday and Florida State at 1 p.m. on Sunday, both in U-Hall.
Despite early domination and record-breaking play, Virginia fell to Duke 3-1 on Tuesday. The Cavaliers won the first game 30-28, using a very successful strategy of tipping, but Duke came back strong and took the next three games. Junior middle Shannon Boyle led the team with season-best 17 kills, and Junior outside hitter Paige Davis had her 10th double-double with 11 kills and 14 digs.
Unfortunately, this strong individual play was not enough to defeat the Blue Devils. They recorded 73 total kills and 81 digs, while Virginia came up with 57 of each. Duke had an impressive .344 hitting percentage, as opposed to the Cavalier's embarrassing .156.
"Our hitting is what's really hurting us. We have the lowest hitting percentage in the conference." Virginia Coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "It's what we work on every day and we just got to get it if we want to win."
The team's ACC-low .141 hitting percentage and second-to-last ranking in the conference is not an accurate reflection of the talent and potential of the Virginia squad. Coach Shelton and the team believes that their key to getting back on a winning track lies in both their physical and mental games.
"We have to bust our butts in practice, which is something we do everyday." Davis said. Davies leads the team in kills. "It's more of how we show up at the game that's important. It's our attitude and presence of how we come on the court that's going to make us win."
The Cavaliers will have to step up this weekend to defeat two tough ACC rivals: Wake Forest and Florida State. The Demon Deacons (11-14, 4-7 ACC) are coming off a crippling loss at the hands of Maryland. In Tuesday's match, Wake Forest was shut out 3-0, never held the lead, and recorded season lows in kills, assists and aces. Maryland was able to neutralize the dangerous Wake offense, allowing only 8 kills apiece to middle blockers Kim Stern and Christy Williams.
At their last match-up on October 4th, the two teams split the first two games, but Wake Forest took the last two to win 3-1.
On Sunday, the Cavaliers will face Florida State, another solid team coming off a tough loss. The Seminoles (16-8, 7-3 ACC) fell to South Florida 3-2 on Tuesday. Senior opposite Kristin Frye, certainly a threat to the Cavaliers as well, led her team with 20 kills, 15 digs, and 6 block assists, tallying a team high .417 hitting percentage. In addition to Frye's strong play on Tuesday, sophomore middle hitter Aisha Carr was recognized for her impressive play over the weekend as ACC player of the week.
This weekend will prove to be a difficult homestand for the women's volleyball team, but they still have hope. Davis believes her team has the ability to win.
"We have the skills; we just have to excecute them in a way where we take it play-by-play and we'll be able to beat them," Davis said.
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