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Sept. 23, 1999
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia volleyball team beginsAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play with a pair of home matches thisweekend at University Hall. The Cavaliers will take on North Carolina inthe ACC opener for both schools on Friday, September 24, at 7:30 p.m. inU-Hall. UVa will then host North Carolina State at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday,September 25.
Virginia, under the direction of fifth-year Head Coach Melissa AldrichShelton, enters the weekend with a 7-3 record. The Cavaliers started the1999 season by winning seven-straight matches, the second longest winningstreak to start a season in school history, but have dropped their lastthree contests. UVa finished the 1998 season with a 26-8 overall recordand a 12-4 mark in ACC play. The ‘Hoos were picked to finish seventh inthe 1998 Preseason Coaches Poll, but ended setting a school record for ACCvictories and placed second. In the 1999 Preseason Coaches Poll, Virginiais picked second.
North Carolina, the 1999 ACC Regular Season Champion, currently stands at8-3 on the year and is ranked 27th in the USA Today/American VolleyballCoaches Association (AVCA) Poll. The Tar Heels, who have been selected tofinish fifth in the ACC in 1999, lead the all-time series against Virginia17-8. After dropping 10 of the first 11 meetings to the Tar Heels, UVa haswon seven of the last 14. The two teams split a pair of matches lastseason with each team winning 3-2 at home.
North Carolina State is 9-7 on the year. The Wolfpack open ACC play atMaryland on Friday evening before playing Virginia on Saturday night. NCSUleads the all-time series against the Cavaliers 19-11, but Virginia has hadthe upper hand in the series as of late, winning five-consecutive matches.UVa won both meetings last season, winning 3-0 on the road and 3-1 at home.
Virginia has been led by the play of a pair of fourth years, setter MaryFrances Scott (Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier College Prep) and middle blockerJessica Parsons (Green Oaks, Ill./Libertyville). Scott was named the MostValuable Player of the Jefferson Cup Tournament, held September 3-4, andwas also selected to the Hi-IQ Classic All-Tournament Team. Parsons wasnamed the MVP of the Hi-IQ Classic, held September 10-11, and was UVa’srepresentative on the Carolina Classic All-Tournament Team. Scott, UVa’sall-time assist leader, surpassed the 5,000-assist milestone againstMichigan on September 18. She currently has 5,006 career assists andstands sixth on the ACC’s all-time assist list. On the season, Scott hasregistered 445 assists for an average of 12.4 per game. She is also secondon the team with 107 digs and third with 11 service aces. Parsons leadsthe team with 121 kills and 39 blocks to go along with 87 digs. Parsonsrecorded a milestone of her own as she reached the 1,000-kill mark onSeptember 14, against Georgetown. She currently has 1,039 kills, good forfifth place on Virginia’s all-time kills list.
Third-year middle blocker Deanna Zwarich (Overland, Park, Kan./ShawneeMission) is also having a fine season. She is tied with third-year outsidehitter Katie Jones (Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood) for the team lead in serviceaces with 13. Zwarich is second on the squad with 113 kills and has added36 total blocks as well. Zwarich and Jones were both selected to theJefferson Cup All-Tournament Team, while Zwarich earned the same honor atthe Hi-IQ Classic. In addition to leading the team in service aces with13, Jones also tops the club in digs with 116.