Virginia volleyball coach Lee Maes certainly knows how to reel them in.\nThe Cavaliers' incoming recruiting class - comprised of Rachel Gray, Tobi Farrar and Jessica O'Shoney - is the most talented in program history, ranked first in the conference and 15th nationally. After finishing a mediocre 17-15 last season and losing three starters to graduation, Maes will look to the team's newcomers to make an immediate impact.\n"We expect them to be contributors this year," said Maes, who is in only his second year with the team.\nGray, a PrepVolleyball.com All-American and a native of Kansas, is arguably the most important rookie of the group as she will be asked to fill the team's empty position at setter. With great hands and an impressive ability to control the flow of the game, Gray will help set the team's offensive pace, assisting outside hitter Simone Asque - who was named to last year's ACC All-Freshman Team - as well as senior middle hitter Lauren Dickson.\nFarrar, a 6-foot-3, three-time All-Texas selection in high school, could potentially use her height to help Gray's offense, in addition to being a strong blocker for the Cavalier defense. Fellow Texan newcomer O'Shoney also will be a powerful middle hitter and blocker for Virginia. As the nation's No. 27 recruit coming out of high school, Maes hopes that O'Shoney will mesh well with the rest of her recruiting class.\n"To me, it seems like they've taken the time to really try to acclimate very well," Asque said.\nAfter a full year adapting to Maes' coaching style, the Cavaliers' only preseason concern has been with helping the new additions adjust.\n"For the first-years, it's being able to adapt to change and being comfortable to change," Maes said.\nTransitioning from high school to Maes' complex system should come fairly easily for this talented group, however. At the season-opening Texas A&M Invitational in College Station, Texas this past weekend, the freshmen trio got its first taste of collegiate volleyball, starting in all three tournament games. Though Virginia dropped its first two matches against Northern Iowa and the host Aggies Friday, the squad captured its first win in a 3-0 sweep of Iona Saturday.\nGray showed she is adjusting well to the college game, notching 74 assists and the third highest serving percentage of the weekend. Farrar and O'Shoney followed suit, combining for 16 blocks and 26 kills to contribute on both offense and defense.\nVirginia will look to these freshmen to mature quickly and gain confidence through upcoming tournament games in preparation for conference play in mid-September.
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