Low maintenance

The UVA women’s volleyball team finally feels as if they have found a home, and their records from 2003 and beyond prove it. Sure, the Division I team has been around since 1979. But, until recently, the team was pushed around campus from gym to gym, often practicing and playing in different locations.
    The team played matches at University Hall for a few years, until the 2003 season. “They wouldn’t give us floor time for practice,” said Head Coach Melissa Shelton before a practice last week. “The visiting team practiced there more than we did.”
    In 2003, however, things changed. The team started playing games in their practice space: 79-year-old Memorial Gym. And they haven’t had a losing season since.
    This season, the team has already notched a victory in the annual Jefferson Cup tournament, and a three-game winning streak (take that, UVA football) at a revitalized Memorial Gym. “Mem Gym” recently received a $1.5 million donation for a new scoreboard, bleachers, paint, and floor surfaces—appreciated by a team that received a new locker room and meeting room two years ago, and seems to draw more attention from UVA each season.
    But the team still struggles with a schedule that keeps fan attendance low. The volleyball team competes on Friday nights, when most high school football games draw crowds from the community.
    Though she would love to see a few more fans in the stands, Shelton is thankful for current schedule. “My kids get to go to class, and sleep in on Saturdays,” she says. “And we still get great crowds.”
    When asked whether the volleyball team anticipates more financial support for their wins, Shelton calls the volleyball team one of the “least high-maintenance” teams at UVA. “We’ve been lucky with alumni donations, but we really don’t need much else right now,” she says.
    UVA volleyball faces Virginia Tech—and a chance to reclaim the Commonwealth Challenge Plaque—on Tuesday, September 26. The plaque is awarded to the team that wins the last match between UVA and VT each season. On a wall in the team’s meeting room hangs a frame, meant for the plaque, with a sign that says: “If you can read this, we’ve got a mission to accomplish.”