Volleyball | Photo by Diana Jaber | The Wright State Guardian
Despite their volleyball games this week against Youngstown State being cancelled, the WSU Raider Volleyball team was able to quickly schedule a non-conference match against the Dayton Flyers.
The quickly scheduled match turned into a heated marathon, as both of Dayton’s Division 1 schools fought back and forth hard throughout the match to try and gain an edge.
The Raiders fell just short in the five-set match 2-3. Every set was close, with Dayton winning set one 25-19 and set three 25-23, Wright State winning both sets two and four 25-23, and the Flyers took the decisive set 15-13.
The big players to watch Tuesday were the Flyers’ Jamie Peterson with a career-high 28 kills, Wright State’s Celia Powers, who led the Raiders in kills, aces, and blocks, and the Flyers’ Bridget Doherty, with 54 assists and 17 digs.
Working for every point
The game was close in every set, with both teams forced to work hard for every point they earned. In the end, it was the Flyers’ .247 hitting percentage versus Wright State’s .184 that gave them the edge through five sets.
The UD offense hit the Raiders hard all match, with Peterson and Lexie Almodovar contributing 44 of their 73 kills, as Mahalia Swink and Alayna Yates each contributed seven blocks to stop the Raider offense before it started.
Both teams played a solid defense, with Dayton’s Maura Collins contributing 27 digs, as Wright State’s Jenna Story, Powers, and Stephenson contributed 19, 18, and 17, respectively.
While all of the stats were close, the Raiders only had the edge in attempts and aces, where the Flyers had the advantage in kills, assists, errors, and blocks.
Looking ahead to Robert Morris, and what about future Gem City battles?
The Raiders have still only dropped one set in six Horizon League matches, and will look to continue that streak on the road against Robert Morris.
The Colonials are still looking for their first conference win after dropping games to Oakland, 6-0 UIC, and 6-2 IPFW. UIC has only dropped two sets so far this year, and the Colonials took one of those sets, so if the Raiders aren’t careful, they could be in for a surprise on the road.
The biggest threats to the Raiders next week will be from the offensive side, with Whitney Brown’s 184 assists so far this season leading the charge, as kills from Alyssa Hudak, Abby Ryan, and Alyson Londot have given the Colonials the brunt of their points.
