Back in Memorial Gymnasium after two weeks on the road, the Virginia volleyball team had an emotional homecoming weekend, finishing with a win and a loss.
The Cavaliers (7-11, 2-5 ACC) dominated N.C. State Friday, sweeping the Wolfpack 3-0, but followed that with an 0-3 loss to North Carolina yesterday.
After a much-needed win Friday, Virginia appeared to be back on track, remaining undefeated in the ACC at home. The Wolfpack (7-13, 0-5 ACC) had no answer for Lee Maes' squad and its overpowering offense led by sophomore outside hitter Simone Asque.
"It was good for everybody to finally step up and play and dominate that team," Asque said.
Asque led the attack with 13 kills, some of which were dished out by freshman setter Rachel Gray who tallied a game-high 34 assists. Senior outside hitter Lauren Dickson paced the defense with 11 digs.
Virginia dominated from the opening set and never looked back.
"It's nice for our team to respond after a few losses that we've had," Maes said. "The great thing about this match in particular was our ability to respond to the setbacks that we've had."
The energized atmosphere of Memorial Gymnasium contributed to the Cavaliers' match-long intensity.
With its first win in two weeks, Virginia seemed refocused, but that changed when the Tar Heels (8-9, 4-2 ACC) arrived. The Cavaliers dropped three close sets to North Carolina, 25-22, 25-22, 25-18.
Starting the first set, the Cavaliers and the Tar Heels were neck and neck, and it appeared the momentum from Friday's victory might continue. North Carolina, however, soon gained the upper hand and deflated the Cavaliers' hopes.
"Our actions didn't reflect our thoughts," Maes said.
With strong hitting from North Carolina's senior outside hitter Branagan Fuller, sophomore hitter Courtney Johnston, and senior middle Heather Brooks, the Cavaliers did not manage to pull out a victory in the second set. The third set saw an easy Tar Heel win, as Virginia's offense and defense unraveled.
"We went out there and North Carolina got better, and we got worse," Maes said.
Despite a promising first game, Virginia was unable to remain consistent. The team had some strong performances from individuals but problems arose for the group as a whole.
"I think we had a difficult time today sustaining focus, and our communication was poor on the court," Maes said. "When communication is poor, you have a lot of chaos, and we didn't do a good enough job creating order out of chaos."
Asque agreed that part of the squad's issues came from not being able to work together.
"There were times of separation kind of within the team where we wouldn't communicate or somebody would be on the wrong page," Asque said.
Asque again led the attack with nine kills, with freshman middle Jessica O'Shoney adding eight. Dickson rounded out Virginia's leaders with seven kills.
Dickson also stood out with an impressive defensive performance, notching a team-high 16 digs. Junior libero A.J. Cushman added 12.
But these statistics could not match up against those compiled by North Carolina, with Johnston leading the offense with 12 kills and sophomore libero Kaylie Gibson heading the defense with 19 digs.
"There was a lot of chaos on our side of the net," Maes said, "and we continued compounding errors with errors and that reflected on the results."
The Cavaliers continue their homestand at Memorial Gymnasium next weekend as they host Clemson and Georgia Tech.
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