The Virginia volleyball team begins the final fourth of conference play when it travels to Clemson tomorrow night before taking on Georgia Tech Sunday.
The Cavaliers (13-12, 7-8 ACC) lost to Maryland Friday before rebounding to defeat Boston College two days later on Senior Night.
"We had a good Senior Night, and I think we're just going to continue to win off of that," freshman middle hitter Mallory Woolridge said.
Heading into this weekend, Virginia will focus on consistency, a season-long project that coach Lee Maes deems a "day-by-day" process.
"It's going to be about doing a better job than we did this past weekend with our serving and be more consistent in the side-out process, especially with our passing," Maes said.
Virginia is looking to take down Clemson (15-11, 6-9 ACC) for a second time after a thrilling five-set victory at Memorial Gymnasium Oct. 3. The Tigers are currently one game behind the Cavaliers in conference standings.
"I think we're similar in terms of what we do offensively," Maes said about Clemson. "It just comes down to, can we continue getting Clemson out of system and give ourselves the opportunity to win a lot of transition points."
Friday night's contest will be followed by a highly anticipated rematch against Georgia Tech Saturday. The Cavaliers barely fell short in the first meeting of the season, which the Yellow Jackets (16-11, 9-6 ACC) won 3-1.
"We need to bring a lot of fight with really strong defense, blocks, everything," Woolridge said.
The match against Georgia Tech features a fierce matchup between the two leading offensive threats in the conference. Georgia Tech's sophomore right side hitter Monique Mead leads the conference in kills per set with 4.31, followed by Virginia's own junior outside hitter Simone Asque with 4.05.
"I'm going to try and be matched up with Mead in hitting and blocking, and for me personally, that's always a fun challenge because she's a good player," Asque said.\nAlthough Maes remains wary of Mead's strengths, he is careful not to overlook Georgia Tech's overall offensive firepower.
"We know we have to do a very good job of minimizing her effectiveness, but at the same time we know she's going to get her kills," Maes said. "So it's about the team that's going to win as opposed to an individual."
Maes also noted that the match will be a "side-out" war in which his squad's level of passing will be crucial to the team's success. Home court advantage also may prove beneficial for Georgia Tech and Clemson, as Virginia will have to travel to the games by bus.
"It will be a little difficult because being on the road is tough especially with this coming weekend and the drive," Asque said.
However difficult the matchups, Virginia must win all of its remaining matches this season to earn an NCAA berth. With or without the possibility of a postseason opportunity, the Cavaliers know team morale is at stake.
"We want to [win] regardless of whether we have a possibility of a postseason, just for team pride," Asque said.
First serve is slated for 7 p.m. Friday at Clemson and 1 p.m. Sunday at Georgia Tech.
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