Women’s Volleyball Preview: Dayton Shows Promise For Friday Game Against Davidson

Ethan Swierczewski
Contributing Writer

If there was ever a way to kick off conference play, the Dayton women’s volleyball squad would be the model to emulate.

The Flyers have not lost a game since their September 7 matchup with No. 13 Pittsburgh, tallying six wins in a row since, including back-to-back victories against Atlantic 10 opponents.

George Mason and George Washington last week. With Davidson strutting into the Frericks Center this upcoming Friday, the Dayton squad will look to keep to their winning ways.

The Wildcats enter the Friday matchup sporting a 1-1 record in conference play, having lost to La Salle 3-0 in their most recent game. They are 7-5 overall so far this season but have yet to win a game on an opponent’s home court (they have won away at neutral locations during invitational-play earlier this season).

The Flyers have been steamrolling their opponents as of late, posting 122 kills over their past two games. Combined with 17 blocks, the squad has only dropped two sets over that same stretch. A barrage of offensive power and a consistent defensive presence have created a balance for the Flyers, and the win column has received all of the benefits.

Senior outside-hitter Lauren Bruns has led the team through their winning streak, earning her fourth A-10 Player of the Week honor for her performance in last week’s games. Bruns averaged 5.00 kills per set in that stretch and posted 40 kills in total.

Davidson senior Mason Rooney has led the Wildcat attack, posting a 2.98 kills/set ratio so far this season. On defense, the Wildcats as a team however have only averaged 1.7 blocks/set compared to the Flyers’ 2.3 blocks/set ratio.

The Flyers are also riding a historical victory over Ohio State just over a week ago, beating the Buckeyes for the first time since 1980. The squad showed the record 2,285 in attendance that they can contend with anybody when they play their best volleyball and have replicated that dominance in conference play thus far.

Friday’s game will be the Flyers’ conference home-opener. Their homestand continues on Sunday with a matchup against VCU before returning to Pittsburgh to face-off against Duquesne the following week.

Photos courtesy of Christian Cubacub.