A-10: UD vs GW

[BeckysTXA]

GW downs VCU 3-0 to set up a tough match against UD Saturday.

GO FLYERS!!!!

[UDBrian]

I'm sure the team knows they must play well to win which is a good thing. This should be a great match but I won't be disappointed if UD wins without drama!

[Figgie123]

This will be a great game. It's on ASN, and I have to watch it on delay. GW showed me a lot when they were in town, and I thought our home crowd help will us to that victory. It was a touch one, and this one will be no different.

Go Flyers! Take home the crown!

[Chris R]

Any of the teams in the A10 Semis can win this tournament. There might end up being an upset on paper, but we have seen all four teams battle each other this year and there really isnt much of a difference between then. The only separator is UD has found a way to win all the really close ones and the other teams were just a couple points short.

Thats the margin I see: a couple points here or there.

[UD62]

Originally Posted by Chris R Any of the teams in the A10 Semis can win this tournament. There might end up being an upset on paper, but we have seen all four teams battle each other this year and there really isnt much of a difference between then. The only separator is UD has found a way to win all the really close ones and the other teams were just a couple points short. Thats the margin I see: a couple points here or there.

Agree, kind of like the football team, pretty even with a bunch of teams but extremely tough at crunch time.

[jack72]

Set 1 to UD 25-23.

[NovaFlyer]

Game is on channel 45.2 in dayton Wow what a first game...

[UDVBFan]

Originally Posted by NovaFlyer Game is on channel 45.2 in dayton Wow what a first game...

We outplayed GW first set and should have been a slightly larger margin. Great passing and setting. 2nd set could have been pulled directly from the GW match in Dayton. GW served aggressively, our passing suffered, which influenced some of Jane's sets, and we lost one that also should have been a wider margin (ref made 2 horrible calls to our benefit).

Can definitely win this but need to be more fundamentally sound. Jill playing really, really well.
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[UDVBFan]

Set 1 redux. Outplayed GW by a comfortable margin. 1 more to go. No let downs allowed!!
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[maddog07]

Turner getting abused at the net. We need to set someone else. All square goin to 5th game

[maddog07]

Jill almost singlehandedly getting us ahead in deciding game.

[ud69]

15-9 Flyers in the fifth.

[NovaFlyer]

Great competition, better win.

[BeckysTXA]

Jill Loiars took it to GW early in the match and then put the team on her shoulders late and led us to victory. I said last year I thought she deserved A-10 HM in the post season awards. I didn't have time to look it up in the last couple days to she how her stats matched up this year -- so I am VERY happy she played well and put herself in position to make the A-10 All Tourney team. She had a ton of blocks and a ton of kills tonight. Well done!!!

[Figgie123]

Wow. What a game!

Watched it on delay, and it was stressful! Back and forth, either team could have won it. I almost thought the Flyers were going to make a massive comeback in the 4th set to win it in 4. Then the great run to start the 5th, and GW couldn't come back.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, GW #8 is a monster at the net. And the other MB they have is awesome too. Wow. Glad to have 4 great teams in the A10.

Saint Louis swept Rhode Island, so finals are set. UD vs SLU.

[udisit19]

I was able to attend this match. It was not quite as thrilling as UD vs. GW at Frericks but it was another exciting 5 set match. The closest set was the first one and from there most of the sets did not have that many ties or lead changes.

This match had some very big momentum swings and it shows in the hitting percentages per set. Dayton hit 0.029 in the second set but hit .378 in the 3rd and hit .438 in the 5th. GW did a really good job serving aggressively without accruing too many errors. Justesen, Clark, Doyle, and Porada at times all did a good job of serving and causing Dayton to make bad passes. For a middle, Clark had a nice serve. It was very strong, always seemed to catch the Dayton players a little higher than they wanted to play it. Seemed like Jane was running a lot during the times Clark was serving.

Not sure about too much strategy, but in sets 3, 4, and 5 Dayton did a good job targeting Aaliya Davidson on their serves. She struggled to get good passes to the setter Jordan Timmer and I think that really caused some poor GW hitting and then allowed Dayton's offense to operate effectively. Once Aaliya Davidson struggled that caused Libero Maddy Doyle to shift and cover more of the back row during the serve receive. I thought Doyle did a great job with the defense during this match (she had at least two spectacular diving saves), but even she couldn't cover 2/3 of the back row. At one point GW even shifted a front row player to the back to help on serve receive. All of these shifts combined to create a GW that was not a smooth offense.

I agree regarding Jill. She came up huge in the 5th set. She connected on some kills that were almost impossible to dig. Really got the Flyers off to a good start and built a lot of momentum early in the 5th. Amber had at least one big kill in the 5th too that was unstoppable.

I could only make one game this weekend. Really glad I decided on this one. I felt GW at home would put up a good fight. Especially after the way GW played at Dayton. The team and coaches deserve a lot of credit for winning this match and the tournament. That was a strong GW team that has wins over Maryland and American. GW had a lot to play for and yet Dayton still was able to win.

[udisit19]

Maybe I can get some help from others, if Davidson was a back row liability, could Head Coach A. Ault have made a substitution to have another OH or a DS to provide better serve receive and passing?
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