UD Volleyball Caps Off Near-Perfect Season
By: Katie Obear – Staff Writer
The University of Dayton women’s volleyball team completed their shining 2016 regular season this weekend, ending on a 17-game win streak with a home victory over VCU.
The team currently has an overall record of 28-1, with their only loss being a September defeat to Loyola Marymount.
The Flyers have consistently shown that, despite having the best winning percentage in the nation, they do not take their season for granted.
“From the beginning of the season we set goals for ourselves, and making it to the NCAA [tournament] was definitely one of those goals,” said junior outside hitter Jessica Sloan. “So I feel like we have been preparing for it the whole season, but it is really important now as we are getting closer to it we are focusing our practices, making it harder, more game-like, so we are more prepared to play typically better teams than we play in the A10.”
During Friday’s game against Davidson, Sloan recorded a match-high 18 kills for the Flyers, ultimately resulting in a 3-0 win for the team.
Both the Davidson game and Sunday’s win over VCU took place at Frericks Center, letting the Flyers finish off their season on home court.
“Playing at our gym, we think it is unlike anything else. When we go to all the other schools, they don’t have nearly the same amount of support that we do,” said Sloan. “We all love playing at home. “
Friday evening, Dayton polished off a 3-0 sweep of Davidson to secure the Atlantic 10 regular season championship and earn the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
“The reality for us is not knowing what we were going to have at the beginning of the season. For us it was just about growth and playing our best volleyball at the end of the season,” said head coach Tim Horsmon prior to Friday’s game.
“I hope that that allows us to finish with one more great weekend here and going into an A10 that we are playing confidently and really clean volleyball. I think if that happens, I think we have a good shot at having two good weekends but those things are ultimately our goals, just to play the best we can.”
To add to the team’s accolades, sophomore Margo Wolf was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Week for Oct. 31-Nov. 6.. This was the fourth weekly award received this season by Wolf.
Wolf, a defensive specialist, is rightly excited for postseason play.
“I’m very excited, it was one of our goals at the beginning of the season,” said Wolf, referring to winning the regular season conference title. “Checking that one off the list definitely feels good.”