Dayton def. VCU 3-2 (18-25, 25-15, 19-25, 25-16, 15-12)
- Dayton wins Atlantic 10 Tournament title, NCAA berth
- Dayton moves to 23-7; VCU moves to 19-9
- Richmond, Virginia
- Box Score
Courtesy: Dayton Athletics
RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Dayton volleyball team defeated VCU, 3-2 (18-25, 25-15, 19-25, 25-16, 15-12), Sunday afternoon in the finals of the Atlantic 10 Championship. The Flyers claimed their A-10 record 12th tournament title, the program’s fourth in the last five years. Dayton’s senior Lauren Bruns was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by senior Kendyll Brown and sophomore Brooke Westbeld. The three-day tournament was held at VCU’s Siegel Center.
Dayton improves to 23-7 on the season while VCU falls to 19-9 on the year.
The final point to clinch the Championship!! #A10Champs #FlyerLegacy pic.twitter.com/L25ZEQGpbM
— Dayton Volleyball (@DaytonVB) November 18, 2018
KEY STATS
• 19 – Bruns led all attackers with 19 kills
• 14 – freshman Alli Papesh tallied 14 kills
• 12-22-16 – Westbeld recorded her fifth triple-double of the season with 12 kills, 22 assists and 16 digs to go with four service aces
• 12-21 – senior Margo Wolf posted her second career double-double with 12 assists and a match-high 21 digs
• 12 – Brown was the fourth Flyer in double-digit kills with 12, while swinging at a .458 clip, to go with seven blocks
NOTABLE
Dayton tallied 64 kills to VCU’s 48 and the Flyers out-hit the Rams, .227 to .161.
UP NEXT
With today’s championship win, Dayton earns the Atlantic 10’s automatic berth into the 2018 NCAA Tournament. The selection show will be Sunday, Nov. 25, 8:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU. The national tournament’s first and second rounds will be played the weekend of Nov. 29-30, Dec. 1.
That A10 champion feeling 🏆#A10Champs #FlyerLegacy pic.twitter.com/h1ONcrYcpi
— Dayton Volleyball (@DaytonVB) November 18, 2018
Courtesy: VCU Athletics
VCU juniors Vicky Giommarini and Jasmin Sneed provided 14 kills and nine blocks, respectively, but it wasn’t enough to hold off Dayton, which rallied past the defending champion Rams in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship Match Sunday in Richmond.
OPENING VOLLEY
- Giommarini hit .279 on 43 attempts and was one of three VCU players to record double-digit digs with 10
Sneed, a middle blocker, hit .333 with eight kills. She also became the second VCU player to record 500 blocks in her career, joining her teammate, senior Tori Baldwin, who reached that milestone earlier this year - Junior opposite Gina Tuzzolo added 11 kills, four aces and four blocks to the VCU cause
- Sneed, Tuzzolo and Giommarini were named to the A-10 All-Tournament Team for their efforts
- Dayton received 19 kills from A-10 Player of the Year Lauren Bruns, while Alli Papesh supplied 14
THE DIFFERENCE
- VCU raced to a 10-7 advantage in the fifth set tiebreaker, only to watch Dayton piece together a match-altering 7-1 run, sparked by back-to-back aces from Bridget Doherty. VCU was able to close to within 14-12 on kill by Tuzzolo, but Westbelt answered on the ensuing play to give the Flyers the title
- Dayton trailed 2-1 in the match, but the Flyers hit .439 in the fourth set on the way to a 25-16 win
- Dayton outhit VCU .227-.161 in the tightly contested match
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Sunday’s match likely marks the end of the careers of VCU seniors Baldwin and Julia Adler, but they will not be soon forgotten. Baldwin, a two-time First Team All-Atlantic 10 and 2017 AVCA All-Region pick, departs as the Rams’ all-time leader in blocks with 519. Adler, meanwhile, piled up more than 700 kills and 300 blocks as a four-year starter. VCU won 82 matches during their careers
- VCU, which was making its second consecutive appearance in the A-10 title match, is 30-2 against league opponents the past two seasons
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