Nov. 18, 2007
Box Score
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - In its fourth appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship match since joining the league prior to the 1995 season, the Xavier Musketeer volleyball team fell to the No. 16 Dayton Flyers, 3-0 (30-24, 33-31, 30-26). Senior Jenni Horvath and sophomore Hillary Otte each earned All-Tournament team honors for their play in the Championship.
Xavier (23-9) was led by Otte with 12 kills and sophomore Kelly Ruth with 14 digs. Also for the Musketeers, Horvath had nine kills and freshman Katie Russell got under 13 digs.
After scoring the first point of the first game, the Musketeers gave up four straight at the Flyers took an early 4-1 lead. Dayton (30-1) stretched the advantage to seven, 11-4, and Xavier took a minute to talk it over. Out of the break, UD pushed its lead to nine, 15-6. XU used a 5-1 run capped off with a kill from senior Jenni Horvath to pull within four, 20-16. After Dayton went up by seven, 23-16, Xavier rattled off four straight, including back-to-back kills from sophomore Kelly Ruth, to cut the lead to three, 23-20.
UD called timeout and when play resumed XU continued to scrap for points. Two kills from Quayle put the Musketeers to within three, 27-24, but Xavier was unable to overcome the margin. The Flyers picked up game one, 30-24. Four Musketeers tallied three kills in the first frame and freshman Katie Russell led XU with six digs.
The second frame started out closer as service errors got the better of both teams. Dayton held a slim advantage, 6-5, and the two teams traded points until Xavier took the lead off a kill from Ruth, 10-9. The frame continued to seesaw and Dayton went up by two, 14-12. An assisted block by Quayle and junior Jenn Welsh knotted the two again, this time at 14 apiece. Xavier would then three times go by two off kills from Quayle, Otte and Russell. An XU setting error resulted in UD retaking the lead, 20-19, but Horvath answered back with a kill.
The Musketeers held a two-point lead after an errant Flyer attack, 25-23, and UD called for a break. Out of the timeout Dayton scored another point and Xavier then used up its first timeout with the score at 25-24 in favor of the Musketeers. A Flyer run was stopped by a kill from Otte but Dayton was able to go ahead at 29-28 and XU took a minute break. The two Xavier seniors got together on an assisted block to thwart the Flyers' game point and then held game point, 31-30, after a Flyer attacking error. But UD scored three consecutive points to take the frame, 33-31, and a two-game lead.
XU opened the third game with two kills from Horvath and then took an early three point lead, 6-3. XU went up by four, 8-4, and held the lead until UD was able to tie the frame at 16-16. The ensuing Dayton serve resulted in an ace for a Flyer lead, 17-16. A Horvath and kill and a Dayton attacking error gave XU a one point advantage, 19-18. The Flyers would get it back at 22-20 and the Musketeers called timeout.
UD went ahead by four, 25-21, on the strength of a 3-0 run. Xavier cut the Dayton lead to two twice before calling a timeout with UD ahead, 28-25. The Flyers held match-point, 29-26, and collected the game-three win off an assisted block resulting in a 3-0 match victory for Dayton.
For Dayton, Tournament MVP Jamie-Lee Richards had 20 kills and Erin Schroeder had 20 digs in the match.
Xavier still has two remaining matches on its schedule as the Musketeers are set to play in the Miami (Ohio) Thanksgiving/MAC-A-10 Challenge next weekend. Please continue to check www.GOXAVIER.com for the latest stats and updates.
2007 A-10 Championship All-Tournament Team
Jamie-Lee Richards (MVP) - Dayton
Erin Schroeder - Dayton
Jenni Horvath - Xavier
Hillary Otte - Xavier
Sammi McCloud - Saint Louis
Whitney Roth - Saint Louis
