Wright State University
8-10
Dayton
13-5
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wright State | 25 | 30 | 13 | 30 | 15 | 2 |
| Dayton | 30 | 23 | 30 | 26 | 17 | 3 |
Volleyball Drops Five-Game Heartbreaker at Dayton
9/30/2006 12:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Wright State volleyball team was in position for the upset, rallying from a one-game deficit twice to force the match to the limit and led 7-5 in the fifth game, but could not maintain the momentum as Dayton won the match 30-25, 23-30, 30-13, 26-30, 17-15 Saturday night at the Frericks Center on the UD campus.
Two Becca Awaa kills gave WSU an early 3-1 advantage in game one, but Dayton used three consecutive points to go in front for good at 6-4. The Raiders hung close the rest of the way and, after a Tara Geegan kill, trailed just 28-25. The Flyers, though, scored the final two points on a Jamie-Lee Richards kill and a Wright State attack error.
The Raiders, however, took command of game two early as they jumped out to an 11-3 lead by scoring seven straight points, two coming on kills from Alisha Kimbro and two more as a result of a kill and block by Lizzy Gunn. The Flyers tried to rally late with three straight points, but a Jenny Schultz kill gave WSU the second game win.
It was all Dayton in game three as the Flyers broke away from a 14-8 lead by outscoring the Raiders 16-5 the rest of the way, including four kills from Faye Barhorst and three by Robynne Green.
UD then looked to be in position to take the match in four, leading 21-17, but the Raiders took advantage of three Flyer attack errors and a Geegan kill to tie it and after Dayton went back up 26-23, forced the fifth game by scoring the final seven points, including two more Kimbro kills and a Lindsey Frank service ace.
Trailing 4-1 in the fifth game, Wright State followed with five unanswered points, two coming on kills from Schultz. It was back and forth from there with eight ties until Dayton claimed the match by scoring the final two points on kills by Richards and Barhorst.
"We wanted to compete the entire match tonight," said Wright State head coach Trina Smith. "We knew that if we competed and put pressure on them, we would be in position to win the match. We really came out aggressive in both the second and fourth games."
"I'm very proud of the way they competed tonight and how they never gave up, especially in a tough road environment like this," added Smith. "Dayton has a great team and has been getting votes in the Top 25, so for us to come over here and be able to go five with them and lose 17-15 in the fifth game, it's a bittersweet loss."
Dayton outhit the Raiders for the match .196-.164 and had the advantage in kills, 78-61, but Wright State countered with an 18.5-6 edge in blocks.
Two WSU players finished with double-doubles on the night as Kimbro had 17 kills and 12 digs while Schultz added 13 kills and 15 digs. Geegan nearly made it three with 14 kills and nine blocks in hitting .458 for the match.
Libero Sarah Poling chipped in a career-high 32 digs while Gunn had eight blocks, Awaa seven kills and six blocks and Frank 45 assists, 14 digs and six kills.
"Our upperclassmen have made the decision the last month or so that they are going to compete and try to win as many matches as they can," said Smith. "They've been working hard and are starting to see some good results and that's carried over to the rest of the team."
Barhorst led Dayton (13-5) with 21 kills while Richards had 19, Green 16 and Bethany Akerhielm a double-double of 12 kills and 14 digs.
Wright State, now 8-10 on the season, was scheduled to face Xavier Tuesday night at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, but that match has been cancelled. As a result, the next action for the Raiders will be on Friday, October 6, as WSU hosts Youngstown State in Horizon League play starting at 7:00.
