But before these ACC foes give battle, one must first understand the importance of this matchup, by traveling back to the previous one.
Virginia lost to the Hokies because this is who they have been all year long — a team that fights back, but cannot sustain control when the lights shine the brightest.
Competing against a slate of eight ranked opponents at Southern Highlands Golf Club, three of which comprise the top-five programs in the country, No. 1 Virginia did more than justify its ranking — it reinforced its status as a legitimate title contender.
“It's a huge accomplishment,” Odom said. “You think back to June, nobody outside of the locker room thought we had a chance to finish second, and probably at that point, nobody inside the locker room knew if we had a chance, you know, to do something that special.”
The mercy rule defeat is an ugly blemish on the Virginia resume. It stands in stark contrast to the Cavaliers’ other early-season results — mercy rule victory of their own and a sweep of in-state opponent VCU led Virginia to Charlotte with aspirations of national rankings.
No. 1 Duke dismantled the Cavaliers winning aspirations with clinical efficiency, rolling to a victory that never once saw Virginia hold a lead. On a day that could have solidified the Cavaliers’ newfound identity, Cameron Indoor Arena and the Blue Devils found a way to ensure that Virginia did everything but.
“The conversation starts with John Paone. What a terrific start. He really showed complete control,” Pollard said following the game. “I loved his mound presence, and he was able to get the ball to both sides of the plate with run on the fastball to the arm side and a really good shape to the slider.”
“Everyone is getting us ready for ACC play,” Hardin said. “That’s what this part of the season is all about — seeing who can do what and when and how. It’s to put ourselves in high-leverage situations, put ourselves in tough situations and compete.”
The Cavaliers will now travel to the west coast for matches at California and No. 12 Stanford.
Virginia now turns its attention to postseason play — as the No. 8 seed in the standings — where the Cavaliers will need that kind of urgency from the opening tip, not just when their backs are against the wall.
The team competes in Formula SAE, an international student design competition where college students design, build and race formula-style electric racecars.
Virginia closed out its first ACC dual of the season with a complete team performance, improving to 9-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play while continuing to defend home court.
“I was standing there at second and, as soon as Beck stepped into the box and we had two outs, I was thinking to myself that I am scoring on anything,” Murray said following the game’s thrilling conclusion.
“I was proud of our draw unit today and Kate Galica with how she dominated,” LaMonica said. “It was unfortunate that we couldn't use that to our advantage today, on the offensive end and capitalize.”
The Cavaliers were up 2-0. They were up 5-1. They were up 8-3. They were up 11-4. They were up 12-8. Games are not won on the basis of the score during or at the end of the first, second, or third quarter, though.
“Naturally, you're going to take punches,” Odom said. “This is a competitive sport and we punch people [and] they punch us. They punched us a lot more than we punched them today. And that's what it is. And so you’ve got to cover yourself, you’ve got to make sure you're not getting hit as much, and you move on to the next thing.”
Following an abbreviated game against George Washington courtesy of an 11-0 run-rule victory, the Cavaliers took the field on Friday afternoon with eyes set on another series sweep as they hosted VCU for the second weekend series of the year.
This year figures to be another heavyweight clash, as Virginia boasts a high-powered offense averaging just under 17 goals a contest, while Johns Hopkins has shown to have the stingier defense.
“We're just going to do what we always do, and that's get ready for the next one,” Odom said after the NC State win.
