Katie Meyer | Photo by Arden Reimer | The Wright State Guardian
On Sept. 8 and 9, the Wright State volleyball team traveled to the University of Dayton for the Dayton Invitational, ending 1-2 on the weekend. Despite the two losses, three players had standout performances.
Friday
At 11 a.m., WSU took on the Flames from the University of Illinois Chicago. The Raiders started quickly and went on a service run early to build their lead. Wright State took set one 25-23 in a back-and-forth battle; however, UIC took the next three sets 25-18, 25-21 and 31-29, handing WSU its first loss of the weekend.
Graduate student Megan Alders led WSU with 14 kills. Other offensive contributors from the Raiders were Sam Ott with 11 kills and Callie Martin with nine. Junior libero Jenny Wessling led the WSU defense with a game-high 23 digs.
“A huge thing that we talked about in between games was just our sense of urgency,” Alders said.
The team showed this urgency as it moved on to its next game.
In a four-set battle, the Raiders took the first two sets 26-24 and 25-14 against Ball State University. BSU then won the thrilling back-and-forth third set 31-29.
A key component of the Raiders’ mindset this season is having “goldfish memory,” according to Katie Meyer, a graduate student from Cincinnati.
Being able to take a mistake, learn from it and move on is the best thing you can do for yourself and teammates, according to Meyer. Wright State used their short-term memory to regain control in the fourth set and rolled on to a 25-18 victory to take the match.
Saturday
The following day, the Raiders took on their cross-town rivals, the University of Dayton Flyers. The Raiders held their own in a very competitive first set. An impressive service run by Sam Ott—where she recorded two of her three service aces—got WSU back into the game after being down by eight.
“We want to be aggressive [when serving],” Head Coach Travers Green stated.
Green expressed to the team that he wants them to stay aggressive when serving, even if it results in errors, as it keeps pressure on the opposing defense.
This serving game plan got the Raiders their own set point as a result of Ott’s efforts; however, the Raiders ended up falling to the Flyers 27-25 in the first set. UD dominated the next two sets, as the Flyers won 25-15 and 25-20, sweeping the Raiders.
Important notes
In the two matches on Friday, three WSU players reached milestones in their careers. Megan Alders recorded 1,000 kills, and on the defensive side of things, Wesling and Martin each reached 1,000 digs.
WSU will be hosting its own invitational, the Tru by Hilton Dayton Beavercreek Invitational, at the end of next week. The Raiders will play Butler on Thursday, Sept. 14, at 6 p.m. and then again on Saturday against Cincinntati at 2 p.m. All games will be at McLin Gym with free admission.
