After a pair of weekend road losses against Georgia Tech and Clemson, the Virginia volleyball team will travel Wednesday to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech in its final regular season test. Coach Lee Maes' squad will not only play for bragging rights against Virginia's in-state rival but also will look to regain its composure following three straight conference defeats.
If the Cavaliers can improve upon their less than stellar ACC performances, they will score a regular-season sweep against the Hokies, whom they defeated 3-1 in the teams' first meeting of the season. This time around, though, Virginia Tech will hold home-court advantage at Cassell Coliseum and also will be celebrating senior night, which could energize the Hokies' most veteran players.
"We did a lot of good things the first time," Maes said. "Now it's just [a question of] can we do it again."
In the rivals' first matchup, sophomore outside hitter Simone Asque, senior outside hitter Lauren Dickson, and freshman middle hitter Tobi Farrar combined for 41 kills. Junior defensive specialist A.J. Cushman stifled the Hokies' attack with 19 digs, while Asque and middle blocker Jessica O'Shoney blocked four shots apiece.
More recently, though, Virginia has faltered. Georgia Tech routed the Cavaliers on Friday (25-18, 25-20, 25-15), and Clemson overcame a one-set deficit the next day to hand Virginia a 3-1 loss.
Though Asque and other players contributed during the weekend's slate of conference games - Dickson became the 14th Cavalier to reach 1,000 career kills - the Cavaliers were held back by a series of key mental mistakes.
"Our biggest opponent was ourselves," Maes said. "The scores were a direct reflection."
An inability to take full advantage of certain situations on both sides of the ball also could have contributed greatly to Virginia's lopsided losses.
"Our team responded well to the [Georgia Tech] performance by coming out and playing with more intention on each point [against Clemson]," Maes said. Nevertheless, "it was one of those matches we let get away."
Even if Virginia performs up to Maes' expectations against Virginia Tech, it will still be facing a team that boasts a strong 11-3 record in Blacksburg. The Hokies' raucous home atmosphere could be an edge against a Virginia squad reeling from losing ground in a competitive conference.
"I feel like its one of those things that could go either way," O'Shoney said. "We'll be at their place, they'll have the crowd, they'll have the fans."
Regardless of which team's fans pack the house Wednesday, however, the Cavaliers know they still have plenty of motivation to overcome their biggest rival.
"We want to beat them so bad," O'Shoney said.
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