UVA Volleyball Goes 10-1 Through Non-Conference Play, Best Start Since 2003

Matt Newton | Sep 19, 2024

Virginia Athletics

In her fourth season at the helm of the Virginia volleyball program, Shannon Wells has the Cavaliers poised for a breakthrough campaign. UVA just wrapped up its 11-game non-conference slate with an impressive 10-1 record. That marks just the fourth time in program history and the first time since 2003 that the Cavaliers are 10-1 through 11 games.

Virginia got to 10-1 by picking up a couple of home wins over a scrappy Middle Tennessee State team this week at Mem Gym, first defeating the Blue Raiders in four sets on Tuesday night and then erasing a pair of one-set deficits to beat MTSU in a five-set thriller on Wednesday night. UVA has now won seven matches in a row for the first time since 2006 and seven-straight non-conference matches for the first time since 2004.

Virginia's lone loss of the season came against Coastal Carolina, a team that won its conference and made the NCAA Tournament last year. The Cavaliers lost to the Chanticleers in straight sets in the opening match of the Cavalier Classic, but then came back the next night and beat them in five sets.

To start the 2024 season, Virginia went 3-0 at the Quest for the Crown tournament at Old Dominion, beating Marist, William & Mary and ODU without dropping a single set. UVA also went 3-0 at the Liberty Tournament, beating ETSU, West Virginia, and then the host Flames in five sets. The Cavaliers are 3-0 so far this season in matches that go to five sets

While the Cavaliers are certainly happy with their performance in non-conference play, the real test begins now as the gauntlet of the Atlantic Coast Conference approaches. ACC play will bring Virginia seven more opponents who qualified for the 2023 NCAA Tournament: Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, Louisville, Pittsburgh, SMU, and Stanford.

Among those contenders are six teams that are currently ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25: No. 1 Pittsburgh, No. 2 Stanford, No. 4 Louisville, No. 13 Georgia Tech, No. 18 Florida State, and No.22 SMU.

There are four dates that UVA fans should consider circling on their calendars this fall:
1.) Friday, October 4th, when Virginia hosts No. 18 Florida State at Mem Gym
2.) Sunday, October 6th, when Virginia hosts Miami at John Paul Jones Arena
3.) Friday, November 1st, when Virginia hosts No.1 Pitt at Mem Gym
4.) Friday, November 22nd, when Virginia hosts No. 4 Louisville at Mem Gym

Although the Cavaliers have had moderate success in non-conference play in the last few years, though nothing as good as this season's 10-1 record, they have yet to see that success sustained into ACC action. Virginia went 4-14 in conference play each of the last two years and went 1-17 in 2021, Shannon Wells' first season in Charlottesville.

With that said, Wells and the Wahoos have more momentum going into the brutal conference slate than they have had in more than two decades. Now is the time for Virginia to keep the ball rolling and show the ACC that this program is ready to turn the corner.