Virginia's volleyball team extended its winning streak to seven games last night, defeating the Towson Tigers. The Cavaliers improved to an overall record of 8-1. Virginia won in an ugly fashion, defeating the Tigers three games to one, with scores of 30-19, 20-30, 30-28 and 30-23. Towson fell to 4-4 on the season.
Despite Virginia's stellar record, last night's game exposed weaknesses that will need to be corrected as the Cavaliers get closer to the ACC portion of their schedule. Virginia seemed unable to finish off the Tigers at numerous critical moments.
"I'm glad we won obviously," Virginia coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "But I think we could have played better. We are getting a little complacent and not working hard on every ball."
Sarah Kirkwood led the team with 25 kills, while also delivering two aces. Another major contributor was Alexis Geocaris, who had 14 kills while assisting on four blocks. Emily Kirkwood, Lindsay Osco and Stephanie Everett all had a blocked shot for the Cavaliers. Melissa Caldwell led the team in digs with 23.
"I think this team [Towson] tested our ability to push through a game and reveal our character," Geocaris said. "It is also really nice to have another win at home under our belt."
In the first game, the Cavaliers jumped out to an early 6-0 lead. Kirkwood delivered a pair of aces during that six-point stretch. Towson slowly clawed its way back into the game but never got within five points of Virginia.
The Tigers showed resilience in the second game as the team battled back to even the match, 1-1. Towson was aided by Virginia's sluggish play. The Cavaliers never had the lead throughout that game. April Hoffman and Liz Goubeaux led the Tigers with five and four kills respectively. Christina Grempler blocked a shot for Towson. The Cavaliers' defense looked porous and the offense was unable to operate effectively.
The Cavaliers bounced back in the third game, narrowly edging the Tigers 30-28. Virginia had as much as a seven point lead but had great difficulty in finishing the Tigers off. Sarah Kirkwood had five kills in that game, including one to score the game-winning point.
The Cavaliers took care of business in the fourth and final game, winning 30-23. As they trailed late in the game, the Tigers looked defeated, with one player throwing up her arms after a Cavalier point and the coach harping to the referee about several perceived missed calls. On match point, with the score at 29-23, Sarah Kirkwood punctuated her night with a kill to secure the game and match win.
"It wasn't a very pretty game," Kirkwood said afterward.
Virginia's final chance to work out its kinks before the ACC season will be this weekend at the Wisconsin Tournament. The Cavaliers will face the University of Wisconsin on Friday and the University of Cincinnati and Marshall on Saturday.
"I think we've had a very strong early season schedule, especially compared to last year, and we'll be ready for ACC play -- especially after our tournament games this weekend against some very good teams," Geocaris said.
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