It's the stereotypical end-of-season sports scenario -- the hopes of an entire year coming down to one last weekend of games.
The Virginia volleyball team (17-9, 7-7 ACC) enters this weekend with the possibility of finishing the season as high as third place or as low as ninth. Virginia currently is tied for fifth in the conference with four other teams.
"I think everyone is definitely ready to step up," junior co-captain Kristin Chaney said. "You start to get tired at the end of the season, but there's a bigger goal in mind. We all want to extend our season a little longer."
If the Cavaliers want to come out of this weekend with two wins, they will have to do it against two of the tougher teams in the ACC. Virginia's schedule has them matching up against Clemson, a team better than its record would indicate, and the top team in the ACC, Georgia Tech. The Cavaliers lost to both squads on the road earlier this season.
Tonight's match against the Tigers (17-12, 6-8 ACC) will feature some of the best hitters in the conference. Clemson has two players ranked in the top 10 for kills per game, including ACC leader Leslie Finn.
"We're trying to change some things around to prepare for Clemson better," senior co-captain Alexis Geocaris said. "We know they have a good outside attack, and that hurt us a lot when we played them the last time."
Georgia Tech (21-5, 14-0 ACC) will enter tomorrow's match looking to complete a perfect run through the ACC. The Yellow Jackets also lead the conference in team hitting percentage, kills and assists. Georgia Tech has won eight straight against Virginia, but when the teams met earlier this year in mid-October, it was a close match.
"We did really well against them," Chaney said. "Had a couple plays gone the other way, we could have gone a fifth game and maybe beat them. I think we have that chance again, and I'm really excited about it."
The Cavaliers also are motivated to make up for two losses suffered on last weekend's road trip to Florida. Virginia lost to Florida State and Miami on a trip that put a halt to a four-match conference win streak.
"We have a renewed purpose [after last weekend]," Virginia coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "I think everyone realizes that we let two opportunities slip through our hands and that this is it -- do or die."
Virginia's four-match win streak helped put the team in the middle of the ACC after a 3-5 start to conference play.
This weekend's matches also mark the final regular season home matches for the team's two seniors -
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