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Virginia plays host to top-ranked foe

No. 1 California, Long Island, East Carolina descend on Charlottesville with eyes set on Holiday Jefferson Cup

With a solid performance at last weekend's Marriott Cavalier Classic already under its belt, the Virginia volleyball team gears up to host another tournament at Memorial Gym this weekend. The Holiday Inn Jefferson Cup Invitational, an annual round-robin competition held in Charlottesville, will pit the Cavaliers (2-1) against the likes of East Carolina, Long Island and California - a squad that earned a No. 1 ranking in several of this week's national polls.

"All three teams are going to be very different," coach Lee Maes said. "Cal's going to be really physical and experienced, and certainly Long Island and East Carolina are going to put a lot of pressure on us in terms of being very efficient and keeping the ball in play for us to be able to work in transition to find ways to score."

California, the 2010 national runner-up and owner of a five-year streak of 20 or more wins, rolls in to the event having yet to drop a set to an opponent during its 2011 campaign. On average, the Golden Bears have held their foes to a stellar average of only 15.6 points per set.

But while the Golden Bears statistically appear to be nearly unbeatable, the Cavaliers hope to use their aggressive style of net play to slip past their visiting opponent. Thus far on the season, the Virginia squad has recorded 82 more total attacks and 19 more kills than the Golden Bears. Although California still outranks Virginia in terms of attack percentage, Maes believes that if his team can land its kills and avoid the errors that have plagued the group at times, the Cavaliers can upset the heavily-favored visitor.

"Cal certainly will be a great challenge for us," Maes said. "Our vision is to be one of the better teams in the country, and to do that, we have to compete against some of the best teams in the country. It allows us to measure where we are."

Although the bout with California is the marquee matchup of the season, Maes has urged his team not to show complacency during its other appearances this weekend against East Carolina (1-0) and Long Island (0-3). Despite the fact that the two foes only tout a collective 1-3 record, the Cavaliers believe that the two programs could put forth enough energy to secure upset victories, especially if Virginia fails to expend its highest level of effort.

To combat a potential setback, Maes hopes to see his senior players lead with an emotionally-charged example both on and off the court. The Cavaliers will especially look to the leadership displayed by senior outside hitter Simone Asque, who has registered more than a fourth of the team's total amount of kills. "Simone brings a lot to the team every day in practice, [and] every game she's always bringing it," junior middle Jessica O'Shoney said. "She's one of the people that's always there bringing us up, making sure we're always getting our jobs done. As fourth year and as a starter, she's really someone that I think everyone kind of looks up to and looks to get pumped up from."

O'Shoney has already noticed a rising level of energy amongst her teammates in the days leading up to the this weekend's tilts.

"I'm just pumped," O'Shoney said. "I know somebody that plays for Cal, the [junior] setter Elly Barrett. We played together in Texas. I just want to kick their butts."

Virginia kicks off the Holiday Inn Jefferson Cup Invitational against East Carolina at 11 a.m. tomorrow before taking on California at 7 p.m. that night. The Cavaliers close out the tournament against Long Island at 3 p.m. Saturday.

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