Virginia volleyball will dive into regular season play headfirst this weekend as it heads south to Blacksburg to square off against in-state rival Virginia Tech and non-conference foe Connecticut. After participating in three preseason tournaments, the Cavaliers (6-3) are eying success in the trying portion of their 2011 schedule, heavily laden with high-quality opponents.
Virginia enters this weekend's tilts confidently as the squad feels that it is already making far better progress than it had made at this time last season. Entering regular season play during 2010, the Cavaliers touted a 5-4 record and had lost four straight contests, three of which came in straight sets. This year, in comparison, the Cavaliers boast one more win and one less loss and have only lost only one match in straight sets - and that came against No. 1 California. Virginia coach Lee Maes is enthusiastic about his squad's progress and believes his team is poised to make a serious run during the latter portion of the season.
"You know we've been improving every week, certainly from where we were at the start of the season to where we are now going into our fourth week," Maes said. "It really showed this past weekend where we were able, in our last match, to play and beat a very good Ohio team and a lot of that was a result of collective group of players who were on the same page at the same time."
The Cavaliers will arrive in Blacksburg fresh off a solid outing in the Ohio Volleyball Tournament, during which they collected two wins and tallied a season-high 69 kills and 64 assists. Maes hopes that his squad will carry last weekend's tenacity into this weekend's contests, especially as it expects both opponents to bring their best play.
"Certainly we try to condition in our training environment to have that level of fitness and that level of mental toughness and try to sustain that over a longer period of time," Maes said. "That's helped us in preparation for the ACC knowing that we only have to give full effort and full focus for one match."
The contest against Virginia Tech (5-4) highlights the weekend of tough competition for Virginia, as the Cavaliers have enjoyed little success against the Hokies in the past. Virginia Tech defeated Virginia twice during 2010 and have not dropped a bout against Virginia at home since the 2005 campaign.
"It's Virginia Tech. It's huge," senior outside hitter Tess Udall said. "I mean we come in and we're focused on UConn in the same way but it's kind of a different hunger for Virginia Tech. We've got to go get 'em, and since I've been here, we have never won in Blacksburg, so that's a big thing for us. Starting off ACC play with that win, that's a big confidence booster."
The Cavaliers hope to rely on their strong offensive attack and aggressive net play to halt the Hokies and the Huskies (6-4). Virginia currently ranks No. 22 in the nation in kills and No. 53 in the nation in hitting percentage. Senior outside hitter Simone Asque, a preseason All-ACC nominee, buoys the offense with 4.07 kills per set - good for No. 46 in the nation - while junior setter Beth Wildermuth has contributed an impressive 9.97 assists per set on average.
Virginia hopes that its offensive firepower and its strong level of endurance will propel it to triumphs against the Hokies and Huskies, who each performed admirably during their slate of preseason tournament appearances.
"[The Virginia Tech game is] going to be an exciting match," Maes said. "They're going to obviously be up for it, but the focus for us is focusing on what we can control and that's continually sustaining that level of effort that we saw this past weekend and being able to build upon that but at the same time going in knowing that we're going to be very well prepared."
Following this weekend's tilts, the Cavaliers return home to go head-to-head against Florida State next Friday and Miami next Sunday.
Read More
Virginia baseball boasts the best catcher in the country — a Division III transfer
By Xander Tilock | 1 hours agoFerence has replaced Teel admirably, and will look to lift Virginia back to the College World Series.
Lacrosse defenseman Cole Kastner announces transfer to Stanford basketball
By Michael Liebermann | YesterdayKastner is reviving a hoops career that has lain dormant since he graduated high school.
Virginia gets second Notre Dame rematch in a dynamic ACC Tournament bout Friday
By Michael Liebermann | YesterdayThe Cavaliers will get a shot at redemption against a vaunted ACC foe, in a game with serious postseason seeding implications.
