Continuing conference play, the Virginia women's volleyball team takes on Florida State and Miami in Memorial Gym this weekend, with the goal of avenging their late September losses to the Hurricanes and the Seminoles.
Virginia (9-13, 4-7 ACC) is riding the momentum of a 2-0 weekend after defeating Maryland and Boston College, mostly in part because of the team's consistency on defense.
"It was nice to see our level of defensive ballhandling improve," coach Lee Maes said.
That strong defense translated into effective passes.
"A good pass means a good set, which means a good hit, so it's all relative," sophomore outside hitter Simone Asque said.
Asque proved to be a key player in each match. She had a combined 48 kills, earning her the honor of being named ACC Player of the Week. Against Boston College, Asque recorded the eighth double-double of her career, matching her career-high 27 kills with a season-best 16 digs.
"When you get on fire, you know - she was hard to put out," Maes said.
Although the Cavaliers may now know more about what to expect from their opponents than in their earlier matches, Maes expressed some concern about having fewer healthy players because of recent injuries. Nevertheless, he remained optimistic that his lineup changes will pay dividends.
"Even though we have a different line-up then when we played them, I think that may in itself help us, because they don't really know what to expect," Asque said. "It's going to be a dogfight for sure."
No. 17 Florida State (19-2, 10-1 ACC) sits atop the ACC standings with only one conference loss, and should prove a challenging squad to face.
The Seminoles are "a very difficult team to stop offensively, with how many different attackers they have who are threats at all times," Maes said.
Florida State's offense is centered around senior middle blocker Brianna Barry, who boasts the highest hit percentage in the conference, nailing more than half of her attempts this season.
Like Florida State, Miami (13-8, 6-5 ACC) will also pose a challenge for Virginia - sophomore outside hitter Lane Carico leads the ACC with 4.47 kills per set, while senior libero Cassie Loessberg leads the conference with 5.13 digs per set.
Though the competition will be stiff, Virginia will rely on its growth and preparation to carry through.
"We have a grasp of what worked and what didn't the first time, but more importantly, it's about our team just trying to focus on the things that we do well," Maes said.
The Cavaliers take on Florida State at 7 p.m. Friday night and close out the weekend at noon Sunday against Miami.
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