BUIES CREEK, N.C.-Participating in its second Atlantic Coast Conference member tournament in as many weeks, Campbell volleyball heads to Virginia for the Holiday Inn Jefferson Cup Friday and Saturday, Sept. 4-5 inside Memorial Gymnasium. The Camels will meet Virginia Commonwealth and North Carolina Central in addition to the Cavaliers.

The Camels, off to a 4-1 start, their best since 2001, will open the tournament along with Virginia Commonwealth at 10:30 a.m. The Rams, like Campbell, swiped all four contests of their opening weekend tournament, downing Wright State, East Carolina, Temple and St. John's in the Third Degree Sportswear Invitational, hosted by VCU.

Junior middle blocker Kelsie Clegg led the Rams on the weekend, collecting 2.47 kills and 1.24 blocks per set en route to a tourney MVP honor. In addition to Clegg, juniors Mariel Frey and Lenka Melicharkova made the invitational's all-tournament team. Frey actually averaged more kills (3.76) and points (4.41 compared to 3.18) per set than Clegg, but hit .223 while Clegg knocked down .350 percent of her shots. Melicharkova, meanwhile, averaged 9.94 assists and 2.76 digs per frame, while slugging 10 service aces. VCU holds a 5-3 edge over Campbell in the all-time series, with their last meeting coming in 2005.

Also seeing action against Campbell on opening day will be NC Central at 4:30 p.m., who claims a 1-3 mark after hosting a tournament last weekend. The Eagles scrapped out a 3-2 win over High Point, who defeated CU by the same score on Tuesday, before closing the NCCU Invitational with three straight losses to Georgia State, The Citadel and Elon.

Senior middle Avaniki Campbell fueled the Eagles on 2.27 kills and 1.00 blocks per set, earning all-tournament team honors along with High Point's Megan Smith, who torched the Camels for 21 kills and 18 digs in Tuesday's match in Buies Creek.

The Camels are 4-2 all-time against the Eagles, that includes a 4-1 mark since 2006. Last season, Campbell participated in the NCCU Invitational to open the 2008 regular season, but did not face the Eagles. Instead, the pair waited to face off in Campbell's home opener, in what proved to be the last volleyball game inside historic Carter Gym. The Camels handed NCCU a 3-0 loss in the contest.

Campbell will meet the host team on Saturday at 3 p.m., battling its second ACC member institution of the year in Virginia. The match will mark the first time a CU team has played multiple ACC teams in a single season since 2003, when the Camels played Virginia Tech, Virginia, and Wake Forest. CU also battled against Pac-10 member Oregon State at the Charlotte Invitational that season. That year marks the only time CU has ever faced Virginia, dropping a 3-0 decision to the Cavaliers.

Virginia, boasting the nation's No. 15 recruiting class, was led by sophomore outside hitter Simone Asque, who notched an all-tournament honor in the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station. Asque tallied 3.22 kills and 2.78 digs while the Cavs went 1-2, including a pair of losses to Northern Iowa and Texas A&M and a win over Iona.

With the aforementioned 4-1 start to the 2009 season, Campbell heads to Charlottesville on the strength of its NC State Hilton RTP Classic All-Tournament team members and fellow middle blockers, senior Ashley Weers and junior Caitlin Bendy. The pair have combined for 44 blocks through just five matches, averaging 0.73 and 1.27 per set, respectively. Bendy is also hitting .387, while Weers slugs a .382 percentage so far.

Junior outside hitter Emily Werner is the team's leader in kills and points, however, registering 2.48 and 2.86 each per set. Werner notched a career-best 19 digs to go along with 18 kills in the loss to HPU. Sophomore defensive specialist Lauren Garza also reached a career high with 19 digs against the Panther.

After completing tourney action this weekend, the Camels will open Atlantic Sun Conference play, hosting Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 11-12 inside the John W. Pope, Jr. Convocation Center.