DAYTON – The Wright State volleyball team opened its 2022 home schedule in style, going the distance Thursday night inside McLin Gym and coming away with a five-set victory over Dayton to open the Tru by Hilton Dayton Beavercreek Invitational.
Wright State (6-3) and Dayton (6-5) have now played three consecutive five-set thrillers, and the pair will face off again inside McLin on Saturday night (6 p.m.), while the Raiders also have a Saturday morning matchup with Wichita State set for an 11 a.m. start. Both Saturday matches are expected to be streamed on ESPN+.
UP NEXT
Saturday, September 17 - vs. Wichita State - 11 a.m. -
Watch - Live Stats
Saturday, September 17 - vs. Dayton - 6 p.m. -
Watch - Live Stats
Thursday, the Raiders opened the night with a 25-21 set win before the sides alternated set wins, with Dayton taking set two, 25-19, before Wright State grabbed set three, 25-23, and the Flyers forced the deciding set with a 25-22 set four win. The Raiders jumped out to an early advantage on the way to the 15-11 fifth set win to wrap up the night.
Sam Ott paced the Raider offense with her fourth double-double of the season, tallying a match-high 18 kills along with 12 digs.
Megan Alders and
Taylor Bransfield each finished with 12 kills, while five Raiders recorded double-digit digs, led by
Jenna Story's match-leading 23. Wright State tallied nine service aces, including three from Story and two each from Ott and
Callie Martin, who turned in seven kills of her own.
Lainey Stephenson passed out 48 of the 56 assists as she spread the offense around, with eight different Raiders recording at least one kill.
SET ONE
Wright State jumped ahead early, taking an 8-3 advantage behind kills from Bransfield and Ott and a trio of service aces, including two from Martin, before Dayton fought back to pull to within two at 10-8. The Raiders went on a 7-2 run to gain a little breathing room and push to 17-10, closing the set out minutes later behind kills from Alders, Bransfield and Ott.
SET TWO
Back-and-forth early, Dayton recorded seven of nine points to jump out to a 12-5 mark and later added a 4-0 run to push to 20-12 before the Raiders rolled off four straight points of their own thanks to back-to-back Alders kills. A kill from
Aaliyah Byers pulled Wright State within four before the Flyers used a pair of kills to end the set.
SET THREE
Neither side could gain more than a two- or three-point advantage early and they traded points through the middle of the set. A kill from Ott tied the score at 22-all late and turned out to be the first point in a 4-1 Raider run to end the set, aided by a pair of attacking errors by the Flyers.
SET FOUR
Dayton jumped ahead early with five of the first six points before Wright State fought back to pull within a point twice, at 10-9 and 13-12. A sprint to the finish from there, both sides traded points before Dayton used a 3-0 run to gain control at 23-19. The Raiders had a final push, with three of the next four points to pull to within two before a Flyer kill forced the deciding set.
SET FIVE
Wright State shot out of the gate to start the set, opening on a 6-1 run behind kills from Bransfield and Ott, before Dayton responded and pulled to within one at 8-7. The Raiders rolled off four of the next five points to seize control thanks to kills from Alders, Martin and Ott, closing the night with three of the final four points to take the match.
