It's pretty safe to say the Virginia women's volleyball team is on a roll.
The Cavaliers (17-7, 7-5 ACC) are in a three-way tie for third place in the conference, and they hold both the ACC's second longest current win streak and the best home record (10-1) in the ACC. With success in so many areas, it would seem Virginia has nothing to worry about.
But that's not the case. The Cavaliers are eighth in team hitting percentage in the ACC with an average of .217 and are second only to Virginia Tech with 592 attack errors.
"Our hitting errors are the things that have kept us from winning a few key matches," Virginia coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "We're one of the top teams in the conference in kills per game, but our hitting percentage is one of the lower ones because we are making too many errors."
The Cavaliers will look to improve their hitting percentage this weekend when they trek to the Sunshine State to take on Miami and Florida State. The Hurricanes (12-8, 7-5 ACC) and the Seminoles (15-9, 6-6 ACC) have two of the lowest dig totals in the ACC. Florida State, however, is not a weak defensive team. The Seminoles have the third best block-per-game total in the conference with 2.93. The ability of these teams has not escaped Shelton's notice.
"We've been winning, but that doesn't mean someone can't beat us if we're not careful," she said. "We've got our work cut out for us this weekend."
Virginia will look to build upon last weekend's win over Virginia Tech, a match in which the Cavaliers hit .250. In that match, Alexis Geocaris led the Cavaliers with 25 kills and a stellar .550 hitting percentage. Sarah Kirkwood was not far behind with 24 kills while hitting .321. The two provided steady play for a team that did not have another player hit above .100.
Sophomore outside hitter Lindsay Osco added 12 kills in the match but had a hitting percentage of .056. The match against the Hokies was the second consecutive match in which Osco had a low hitting percentage. She hit only .038 on Oct. 26 against Maryland. But Osco is third on the team in kills per game and has been an integral part of the Cavalier offense this season. Along with Geocaris and Kirkwood, she has been one of the more consistent players at the net.
"Those have been the three shoulders we've been riding all year," Shelton said.
Both Miami and Florida State's defenses will give those three shoulders trouble this weekend. The Seminoles are coming off a match in which they held Central Florida to a .139 hitting percentage.
The Hurricanes boast the ACC's second best blocker, redshirt freshman Ciara Michel. Miami also features Jamie Grass, who is fifth in the conference in digs per game. Miami also is ranked second in the ACC in assists per game and third in hitting percentage and kills per game.
Despite those statistics, the Cavaliers feel they have the talent and confidence to beat these teams.
"We're now 7-5 in the ACC, and we're building a lot of confidence," Kirkwood said. "With every win we just think that there is no one in the ACC we can't beat on a given night."
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