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Hungry foes await Cavs

Squad heads to Buckeye state for final test before start of conference play

Fresh off a weekend during which it took two of its three matches and nearly managed to steal a set from top-ranked California, the Virginia volleyball team hits the road for the first time this season to participate in the Ohio Volleyball Tournament this weekend. The round-robin event, which is held in Athens, Ohio, will pit the Cavaliers (4-2) against Marshall, Louisville and Ohio in three days of competition.

"Those teams will be a lot like some of the teams we'll play in the ACC," senior outside hitter Simone Asque said. "They're definitely not chump teams, so we definitely will really have to bring it and fight through it."

Fighting through adversity has certainly been a feat that the Cavaliers have become accustomed to during this young season. Virginia has recorded 32 more total attacks than its opponents, an indicator that the squad has been forced to attempt multiple kills in any given rally after a failed first try. But despite such attacking struggles, the Cavaliers believe their emotional play and grit can propel the squad to future successes, especially as the team tries to focus on playing in a more unified manner.

"One of the things that we can take from this [past] weekend in preparation for [this] weekend is the fact that we know when we can play as one unit at the same time for a longer period of time, we can do a lot of great things," coach Lee Maes said. "It's just packaging those moments, those points and those plays together at the same time ... When we can do that, we feel like we're as good as anybody."

Finding team unity and sustaining a high level of effort throughout three straight matches likely will remain on the forefront of the Cavaliers' minds, especially during a tough weekend slate. Junior outside hitter Lola Arslanbekova leads Louisville (5-1) into the matchup as the reigning Big East Player of the Week and has helped her squad jump out to an impressive start during this young season. Louisville's lone loss came in five sets against Georgia Tech. Ohio (3-3), meanwhile, already boasts two wins against ACC programs this year as the Bobcats edged both Maryland and Virginia Tech by a 3-2 margin during earlier tournaments.

The Cavaliers not only hope to fare better than their ACC foes against the Bobcats, but also to use their matchups against Ohio and the rest of their weekend opponents as a litmus test before heading into conference competition. The Ohio Volleyball Tournament marks the final non-conference weekend event for Virginia before it squares off against Virginia Tech Sept. 16. As one of the well-respected leaders on the squad, Asque hopes to push her team to its highest potential before it lays its eyes on the ACC regular season crown.

"I love and thrive off playing and competing, [especially] when it gets tough and dirty," Asque said. "Team-wise, we sometimes struggle with picking up our team energy to where it needs to be. We'll have spurts of it, but it really quickly kind of drops. That's something our team has been working on a lot in practice ... Whenever I'm on the floor, that's what I'm thinking, trying to boost everybody's morale and energy on the court."

Asque believes a high overall team morale will yield success on the court, especially against red-hot teams like Ohio and Louisville.

"At the end of the day, I think our team can have the upper hand," Asque said. "I think we want to go in with that confidence like we're [going to be] winning. I'm looking forward to some good volleyball, and I think it will be good competition over there"

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