The Cavaliers (12-5, 5-3 ACC) return home this weekend after a roller-coaster four game road trip. Virginia kicked off the road trip with wins over Boston College and Maryland two weekends ago before dropping two in a row last weekend to Duke and Wake Forest. This weekend, Virginia returns to Memorial Gymnasium to continue ACC play with games against Miami and Florida State.
The Cavaliers kick off their homestand with a Friday night contest against the Miami Hurricanes (6-10, 3-4 ACC). Miami is coming off a home weekend in which they were 1-1, beating N.C. State and losing to North Carolina.
"They are a very athletic team," Virginia coach Melissa Shelton said. "They have two middle hitters that we're going to have to contain."
Statistically, the Hurricanes are lead by outside hitter Frannie Savage who lays down on average 3.73 kills per game.
The Cavalier defense, led up front by junior Katie Oakes, the national leader in blocks (averaging 1.88 per game), will have to contain the potent Miami offense to be successful.
"We have to find a way to take them out of their offense, while controlling our side of the net as well," senior Emily Kirkwood said.
Saturday night Virginia will face Florida State (12-4, 6-1 ACC) at 7:30 p.m. Florida State also played North Carolina and N.C. State and swept both teams 3-0. However the Seminoles have struggled in Charlottesville of late, with their last win coming in 2002.
The Seminoles will be a challenge for the Cavalier defense as they lead the ACC in hitting percentage at .305. The potent Florida State offense has hit over .400 seven times this season, including a .472 mark over N.C. State. The Hurricane offense is led by Makini Thompson who is hitting .323 and averaging 3.75 kills per game. In addition to Thompson, Miami has five players hitting over .300.
To counter, the Cavaliers will have to rely on the sluggish offense of last weekend. Helpful to this cause will be the continuing return of power hitter Sarah Kirkwood, who is still gaining strength after an extended absence from the court.
"She's had some good moments in practice and some that show she is still on the road to recovery," Shelton said. "So we're not sure what role she will play yet. It will probably be a gametime decision."
Aside from Kirkwood's return, the biggest key for the Cavaliers in both matches will be regaining the team confidence that existed prior to last weekend and pumping up the offense.
"We need to find our rhythm as a team again and find a way for our offense to improve going into this weekend's matches," Kirkwood said.
While the Cavaliers record can handle a couple of mid-season losses, two is about the limit. To remain contenders in the ACC, Virginia will have to come out with a strong showing at home.
"It's hard to gauge where we are right now," Shelton said. "It's been a tough week of practice but hopefully it will all come together in the matches."
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