Virginia Volleyball Concludes Successful Spring Season
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April 25, 2003
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia volleyball team recently concluded a successful spring season in which the Cavaliers won 30 of 34 games played and all four tournaments the team participated in. Coming off a disappointing fall season, the team’s hard work in practice and the weight room paid off as UVa won tournaments at George Mason, James Madison and Wake Forest in addition to its own Hoo’s Spring Classic.
“We had two major goals for our spring season: to improve our offense and to make winning a habit for our team,” said head coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton. “I am happy to say that we accomplished both of our goals and have made many other strides as well. We are well on our way to being one of the top teams in the ACC once again.”
The Cavaliers opened the spring season by traveling to George Mason on March 22. Virginia won the tournament with an 8-2 record. The ‘Hoos won their matches against James Madison, Virginia Commonwealth and the X-Patriots, a local USAV team, and split with George Mason and Georgetown. Second-year Alexis Geocaris (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) led UVa with 33 kills and a .681 hitting percentage. As a team, the Cavaliers hit .283 and averaged 13 kills per game.
On March 29, Virginia competed in a tournament hosted by James Madison and won the tourney with a 7-1 mark. UVa defeated James Madison, Virginia Commonwealth and William & Mary by identical 2-0 scores and split with American. Third-year Shannon Boyle (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) topped Virginia with 32 kills (4.0 kills per game), while Geocaris hit .519 with 30 kills. UVa averaged 15.75 kills per game and hit .261 as a team.
UVa went a perfect 8-0 in winning its own Hoo’s Spring Classic on April 5. The Cavaliers registered victories over James Madison (30-25, 30-22), Radford (30-13, 30-14) and Liberty (33-31, 30-24) during pool play. Virginia faced Liberty again in the championship game and registered a 30-25, 30-19 win to claim the tournament title. Third-year Paige Davis (Austin, Texas/Westlake) paced UVa with 41 kills (5.13 per game) and a .587 hitting percentage. The Cavaliers hit an impressive .328 as a team and averaged 16 kills per game.
The Cavaliers closed out their spring season by winning Wake Forest’s tournament on April 12. After splitting a match with Elon (29-31, 30-18), UVa defeated North Carolina Wilmington (30-13, 30-13), Appalachian State (30-21, 30-24) and Wake Forest (30-28, 30-18) to win the tournament with a 7-1 record. Davis led Virginia with 39 kills (4.88 kills per game), while Geocaris hit .474 with 22 kills.
“Every hitter on our team improved at the net,” said Shelton. Right side Paige Davis led the team in total kills and kills per game for the spring with 136 for an average of 4.0 per game. Alexis Geocaris led the Cavaliers in hitting efficiency, posting a whopping .528 percentage for all 34 games this spring. “Alexis and Paige developed into our go-to hitters this spring. They are taking great swings as well as developing their own finesse shots. Both are now high kill, low error hitters, perfect for the rally score game.”
“Our outside hitter Celeste Laborde (New Orleans, La./Academy of the Sacred Heart) showed the most improvement over the course of the season, earning her best stats during the last tournament.” At Wake Forest, Laborde hit .254 with 3.0 kills per game. “We saw improvement in C every tournament. Her use of both power and finesse shots as well as her ability to hit from any zone along the net kept defenses guessing all spring. But most importantly, she developed her confidence at the net and is well on her way to becoming a go-to hitter for us next fall.”
First-year Kristin Chaney (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) earned her stripes as an outside hitter this spring. “Kristin was asked to pass all six rotations in a two person serve receive as well as attack on the left side for the first time in her career. I am very pleased with Kristin’s progress as a swing hitter. She grew more comfortable hitting every match and was able to maintain her high passing numbers through it all,” said Shelton.
Stellar play was also received from middle Shannon Boyle and third-year libero Whitney Ashcraft (Yorktown, Ind./Burris). Both continued to play well and lead by example all season long. “Whit and Shannon are our leaders. The work ethic they demonstrate every day in practice is inspiring and makes everyone else step up their level. They continue to strive for individual excellence and they push their teammates to do the same.”
The Cavaliers open their 2003 season by competing in Louisiana State’s Tournament August 29-30. In Baton Rogue, La. UVa will play matches against Alabama-Birmingham, LSU and Centenary. UVa will host the Jefferson Cup Tournament September 5-6.