Teams coming off of 25-win seasons usually receive preseason accolades. The Virginia women's volleyball team, however, has not been rewarded for its success last year--the team was picked to finish eighth out of 11 teams in the preseason ACC volleyball poll.
"We're definitely ready to turn that around," junior co-captain Kristin Chaney said. "Last year we had to prove ourselves, and we went from being eighth to finishing fourth or fifth and I think we're looking to do that again."
Despite the lack of recognition, the Cavaliers will open their 2004 season tonight against in-state rivals William & Mary at Memorial Gymnasium at 7 p.m. Tonight's match against the Tribe will be an early test for an inexperienced Virginia team. The Cavaliers lost three seniors--Paige Davis, Shannon Boyle and Whitney Ashcraft--to graduation and have only two seniors, Annie Hylton and co-captain Alexis Geocaris, on the roster this season. Virginia also will have five freshmen on the roster this season.
"We're looking at having two or three freshmen on the court for us this season," head coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said.
Shelton mentioned freshmen Sarah Kirkwood, Melissa Caldwell and Katie Oakes as young players who have had impressive preseason workouts. The Cavaliers also have a large sophomore class with five returning from last year's team.
"As far as court experience, we are pretty young," Chaney said. "But I think we have a ton of talent, a ton of raw volleyball talent, and if we can bring it together that's going to be the key to our success."
Geocaris' importance as a team co-captain has already been recognized by the other coaches in the ACC, as she was selected to the 14-member All-ACC Preseason team.
Geocaris said she was excited to be selected as one of the standout players in the conference.
"It kind of puts a lot of pressure on, but I'm definitely excited to live up to that expectation," she added.
Last year, Geocaris led the Cavaliers in hitting percentage and had a career high 151 blocks, which was the sixth highest block total in school history.
Tonight against William & Mary, Virginia will face a team that is coming off of a 10-17 season last year. The Tribe, however, returns all six of its starters from last year's squad and has eight upperclassmen at Coach Debbie Hill's disposal. Shelton said she is aware the William & Mary team's experience and knows it will be a factor in tonight's game.
"They have much more experience than we do, so we're hoping we can match their tenacity," Shelton said. "It's going to be a barn-burner; it's going to be one of those long matches."
The Tribe, picked to finish sixth in the preseason Colonial Athletic Conference poll, have a strong blocking presence with junior Caitlin Geraghty. Last season, Geraghty was second in the CAA with 1.21 blocks per game. In addition to its on-court experience, William & Mary has coaching experience, as Hill enters her 27th season as head coach. She coached Shelton when she was a four-year varsity letterer for William & Mary.
"Debbie Hill is still the same coach that coached me, so it's always an honor to play her," Shelton said. "It brings a lot of pride to show her what I can do in terms of what type of a program I run."
The last time Virginia faced William & Mary almost a year ago, Geocaris led the Cavaliers with nine kills en route to a 3-0 (30-20, 30-17, 30-25) win.
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