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[BeckysTXA]

The A-10 doesn't help Dayton's volleyball program for sure. There were a couple years the conference had 2 teams go to the NCAAs. There was talk of building it to a 3 bid conference, but sadly it's slipped back to a 1 bid confernece.

It will take teams like Xavier, St Louis, Butler and VCU to up their game just to get back to 2 bids. SLU scheduled tough this past year. We need to continue to see that from other teams. We also need to see the conference schedule stacked as favorably to the top teams. We need the best teams only playing the weakest teams once a year and doubling up with each other to get the greatest RPI value out of the conference schedule. It would probably take creating an inner-conference RPI to determine the 6 teams that make up the conference championship tourney. Well Figgie can probably handle that. The conference should be working from a position of, "whatever it takes to build its volleyball strength as a conference." The Missouri Valley conference is consistantly a 3 bid conference. Northern Iowa, Creighton, Wichita State this year and WSU is headed to the Sweet 16. This is what the A-10 volleyball conference should and could be.

What I would also like to see is instead of that single match Thanksgiving weekend, after the conference tournament (the Western Michigan match is past year), I'd like to see a conference challenge 2-match set up that weekend. And the conference to do it with is the Big 12. They are down in numbers, so they can finish their conference schedule before that weekend where as the Big 10 can't. Too many members so they are still playing regular season matches.

I'd like to send the top 2 finishers in the A-10 to play the top 2 finishers in the Big 12 that weekend. It would give us two matches against highly ranked teams right before the NCAAs. This year it would have been Xavier and UD against Texas and Iowa State. UD would have played both TX and ISU. I'd every agree to travel the first 2-3 years to get it started. That's how much it would help the A-10 and help prepare hopefully BOTH A-10 teams for the NCAAs.

	Xavier XAVIER MUSKETEERS Dayton's biggest rival dating back to the early 1900s. Founded in 1831, Xavier University is a Jesuit, Catholic university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its three colleges offer 78 undergraduate majors, 43 minors and 11 graduate programs to 6,646 total students, including 3,961 undergraduates. The University is the sixth-oldest Catholic university in the nation and one of 28 Jesuit colleges and universities nationwide. Xavier's nickname is the Musketeers and are fellow A10 Conference members.

	Saint Louis SAINT LOUIS Saint Louis University is a Jesuit, Catholic university ranked among the top research institutions in the nation. The University fosters the intellectual and character development of more than 12,700 students. Founded in 1818, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi and the second oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Located in St. Louis, MO, and just five minutes from the Gateway Arch, SLU offers 85 undergraduate programs and over 50 graduate study tracks. Over 99% of the SLU faculty hold the highest degree in their respective fields. Fellow member of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Billikens, but also commonly known as "Sloo", the phonetic pronunciation of the school's initials. Athletic claims to fame include multiple national titles in men's soccer and men's basketball star Larry Hughes.