The Virginia volleyball team's five-game win streak - its best season start since 2003 - came to an end Saturday when it could not contain a late fifth-set rally by George Washington in the Holiday Inn Jefferson Cup.
Although the Cavaliers (5-1) ultimately won the cup, their last-minute efforts against the Colonials (4-2) came up short, giving them their first loss of the season.
"Our team was a little complacent, expecting that it was going to be an easy match," coach Lee Maes said.
Saturday's game started off in somewhat unusual fashion for Virginia, which had swept both North Florida (0-6)and Liberty (4-2) Friday. The Cavaliers got off to a disappointing 0-2 start after an up-and-down performance ended in losing both the first and second sets, 25-22.
"We were very high-error in the first two sets," Maes said.
After a brief intermission, Virginia came back, seemingly a new squad, tallying seven team blocks to defeat the Colonials 25-10 in the third set.
"They had to take a lot more pride then just following directions and to put more attention to what was going on in the match," Maes said.
The difference came in sophomore middle hitter Jessica O'Shoney and junior outside hitter Tess Udall, who assisted on five blocks, making trouble for George Washington's front line.
"Tess and I had been talking to each other the whole time back and forth about blocking and set-up, and things just started to fall into place," O'Shoney said.
With momentum on their side, the Cavaliers took the fourth just as easily as the third, with a score of 25-12.
Heading into the fifth set with a 2-2 tie, it seemed as though Virginia was heading toward victory thanks to the momentum it gained from dominating the third and fourth sets.
But the Cavaliers jumped off to a slow start, going down 5-9 to start the fifth set. After a quick timeout called by Maes, Virginia responded by tying the score at nine.
Nevertheless, a string of errors by the Cavaliers guided the Colonials to six straight points and a 15-9 victory.
"When you put yourself in that situation to get into a fifth game, anybody can win that match because it comes down to mistakes and that's the difference-maker," Maes said.
Despite this setback, and although they were one of three teams to post 2-1 records for the weekend, the Cavaliers ended up claiming the tournament title by outscoring their rivals' total set wins for the weekend. Their 8-3 record placed them at the top of the standings, with George Washington as the runner-up (7-5), followed by Liberty (6-5) and North Florida (1-9). This marks the 12th title in 20 years for the Cavaliers in the Jefferson Cup.
O'Shoney, who was named tournament MVP, earned her first career double-double with a career-high 18 kills and 12 digs. Her personal-best 12 blocks ties Virginia's third-best single-match performance in program history.
Junior outside hitter and all-tournament team member Simone Asque knocked down 15 kills to go along with 11 digs, marking her 14th career double-double. Freshman libero Emily Rottman, meanwhile, has gotten her collegiate career off to an impressive start, earning her second double-double with 10 kills and 17 digs.
"I feel comfortable on the court, and I'm just focused on improving every match," Rottman said.
Udall achieved milestones of her own, earning her 100th kill of her career against the Colonials in a battle where she notched a personal best seven blocks.
Hitting another milestone was senior defensive specialist A.J. Cushman, who tallied the 1,000th dig of her career in the first point of the second set against George Washington. After Saturday's 23 digs, she remains 62 digs shy of Virginia's all-time top-10 records.
The Cavaliers hit the road next weekend for a three-game cross-country stint in California. Virginia plays San Diego before heading to USC and finishing up the weekend against Long Beach State. Each match is set to start at 10 p.m. Eastern time.
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