After its first conference win against Clemson last weekend, the Virginia volleyball team travels north to play Boston College and Maryland today and Sunday, respectively.
The win against the Tigers broke a four-game losing streak for the Cavaliers (7-8, 1-4 ACC). As a result, some of the pressure that had been on the Cavaliers' shoulders has been lifted, ensuring that the team still has a chance to be a top contender in the conference.
"The ACC is a conference that you can be at the top one weekend and the bottom the next, so a win is a good thing for us," senior middle hitter Sydney Hill said. "It's our first win out of five games now, and that still doesn't put us out of being at the top of the conference."
The win also shows the Cavaliers' ability to be a challenger in close matches. Virginia has lost five-set matches to Virginia Tech and George Washington and four-set matches to Miami and Georgia Tech - all of which were hotly contested.
"I'm really happy for our team to be able to get over the hump in winning another close match that we put ourselves in," coach Lee Maes said.
The ability to pull through and win close matches will be critical against both the Eagles and Terrapins this weekend.
Boston College (8-10, 0-5 ACC) is still searching for its first conference win and will rely on home-court advantage to get an edge over Virginia. The Cavaliers are 9-1 all-time against the Eagles since the series began in 1998.
The team will have just a one-day break before taking on Maryland (12-5, 3-2 ACC). Although the Cavaliers have a 18-33 losing record against the Terrapins, they have dominated in recent years, having won the past seven matches.
"Maryland is a big, physical team," Maes said. "They are trying to learn and adapt to the systems that they've had to grow with their new coaching staff."
This almost exactly mirrors Virginia; both teams are in their third seasons with their coaches at the helm. The Cavaliers also boast an almost entirely new lineup in addition to a new assistant coach.
If history is indeed cyclical, the Cavaliers stand a chance for success this weekend, as the squad defeated both Maryland and Boston College last season on the road. Because of recent instability in its lineup, however, Virginia will not take these upcoming road matches for granted.
"With every match, again our approach - regardless of record, regardless of name, regardless of history - you can't afford to go into a match being complacent," Maes said.
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