Flyer volleyball putting pieces together for conference play
A six-game winning streak has the Flyers in good spirits as they seek their ninth conference title. Ian Moran/Chief Photographer
By: Kyle Janowicz – Staff Writer
The University of Dayton women’s volleyball team posted a 10-4 record in conference play and opened up the Atlantic 10 schedule with two wins Sept. 26-27 against defending conference champion Duquesne University and La Salle University.
The two wins have the Flyers at the top of the A-10 standings.
Flyers head coach Tim Horsmon said he is pleased with the identity his team has formed heading into A-10 play.
“I like who our team is,” Horsmon said. “I think we have a lot of great character kids. I think we work hard to do the right things.”
Horsmon credits much of the Flyers’ early success to solid team chemistry.
Junior libero Janna Krafka said that one of the most important things the team must focus on is consistency.
Some of the top teams early in the conference season include St. Louis University, George Washington University, and the University of Rhode Island. Each of these teams along with UD has started out nonconference play with a winning record.
In the preseason poll, the A-10 coaches picked Dayton to finish third behind Duquesne University and Saint Louis University.
Notably, SLU pulled off an impressive win early in the season, going on the road and downing No. 11 ranked Purdue Boilermakers of the Big Ten Conference.
While the victory puts a target on the back of SLU, the depth of the conference forces teams to prepare heavily going into each weekend.
“There are five or six teams that could win the conference or win the [postseason conference] tournament,” Horsmon said.
Krafka also believes that there is no clear dominant team in the A-10 this year.
“There isn’t really one top team,” Krafka said. “Everyone is going to be at their best having to play in order to win.”
The Flyers are looking to return to the conference championship game and the NCAA Tournament.
Losing to Duquesne in the 2013 semifinals snapped a ten-year stretch of an A-10 Finals appearance.
Dayton has won the A-10 regular season conference title 10 times with their last in 2012. They have also won the tournament title eight times with their most recent one in 2012.
Dayton will match up at home Friday-Sunday to face A-10 newcomer Davidson College 7 p.m. Friday and Virginia Commonwealth University Sunday at 1 p.m.