The Virginia volleyball team split two ACC matches this weekend, topping Georgia Tech 3-2 before falling to Clemson 3-1.
The mixed weekend served as a measuring stick for the Cavaliers’ (8-18, 2-13 ACC) positive progress this year. In their first meetings with the Yellow Jackets and Tigers, Virginia was swept by both opponents amid an eight-match losing streak. Since starting 0-9 in conference play, Virginia picked up its first ACC win against Wake Forest Oct. 20 and stayed competitive against nationally-ranked Florida State and Miami. A better result this weekend showed that Virginia is becoming more than just the conference doormat under the direction of first-year coach Dennis Hohenshelt.
The Cavaliers overcame a 2-1 deficit against the Yellow Jackets (16-10, 7-8 ACC) to rally back for their second conference win this season. Georgia Tech, who entered as losers of three of their last four matches, took an early lead by winning the first set 28-26. Virginia answered by taking the second set, 25-21, but the Yellow Jackets moved one set away from victory with a 25-22 third set win. Unfazed, Virginia held Georgia Tech to a match-low .107 hitting percentage en route to a 25-21 fourth set victory and captured the deciding fifth set 15-11 by scoring seven of the final 10 points.
The victory was arguably the Cavaliers’ best performance of the year. The team recorded a season-high .387 hitting percentage, tallied 70 kills and committed just 13 attacking errors. Five players hit above a .250 percentage, including freshman outside hitter Kayla Sears, who led the team with 20 kills. Senior captain middle Jessica O’Shoney had one of her best matches of the year, finishing with 19 kills and only two hitting errors.
“Any time we play [well], regardless of whether we win or lose, it’s a strong match and it means a lot to us,” O’Shoney said, “Obviously we’ve had a rough season, a lot of ups and downs, but it’s great to get a win.”
Virginia carried that momentum into the opening of its match Saturday against Clemson (18-8, 9-6 ACC), taking a hard-fought first set 29-27. The Tigers edged the Cavaliers in the second set, 22-25, and dominated Virginia in the third set 17-25. A communication error on the final point in the fourth set cost the Cavaliers the round, 22-25, and the match, 3-1.
“I thought we played hard,” Hohenshelt said, “We weren’t anywhere near as sharp as we were last night, though. We just didn’t execute in critical times. We played hard enough to keep ourselves in the match, but there’s a finite point in the match where you have to get chances and convert those chances one hundred percent of the time, and we just weren’t great at that tonight.”
Despite the loss, a number of players had career-best performances against Clemson. Junior libero Emily Rottman recorded a career-high 40 digs, fourth most in a single match in Virginia history. Sophomore middle Morgan Blair posted a career-high eight kills and a team-high .538 hitting percentage.
In addition, freshman outside hitter Natalie Bausback had 12 kills, moving her into the top 10 on the all-time freshman list at Virginia with 261 on the season.
The upset win Friday and disappointing loss Saturday served both to reinforce the improvements the team has made this season and remind the players how far they still have to go. Facing two opponents who entered at or above .500 in ACC play, however, the weekend split makes clear the team’s trajectory going forward.
“Up,” Bausback said. “I think from here, we’re motivated to win, and we can win. If we keep practicing hard and playing like we did [Friday night], I know we can win from here on out.”
Virginia takes the court again next weekend in their home finales when they host Maryland Friday and Boston College Saturday.
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