2021 A10 Title Match: #1 Dayton vs #6 Fordham
10
Game Time: 1:30p
Coverage: ESPN+
The Flyers are fortunate to even be in the Finals after being on life support in set 4 against the Dukes on the Duke Girls home court. A fortuitous serve and then some real guts to run a set of points late got us to a fifth set where we ran out in front for really the first time all match.
In a way, Dayton "Dayton'd" Duquesne in the same way Big10 other Top-15 teams have "Washington'd" us over the last few years. At that absolute critical juncture when you think you're ready to break through for a huge program-defining win, absolute God-given talent and experience takes over and the more powerful team somehow finds a way to pull it out of their rear ends. Horsmon admitted he didnt coach well and we didn't play well. But we're here and that's all that matters.
Knowing Fordham sent SLU and VCU packing should get our attention real quick. They are peaking. But I also think the Dukes match may just be the thing we needed. Perhaps we were getting a tad complacent with 17 wins in a row and thought it would be too easy. Now we know we have to fight and be our best to win. And that's just it: if UD and Fordham play to their ceiling: UD wins 3-0. If UD struggles and Fordham plays to their ceiling the Flyers can get beat.
I dont think that's gonna happen though. I think we're gonna be ready. I think JPete is gonna bring it. She knows this is the last A10 match she'll ever play. I think our block is gonna get going and our serve is gonna be a lever we can pull. We also have one less match on our legs so we should be a tad fresher.
This season started out with such high expectations and we whiffed on all of those non-con primo matchups. The 5-set WSU loss after we totally had that match under control really stung. But we've been perfect since the Michigan loss on September 18th -- or two full months. I thought this was a Flyer team at A10 start that could probably still win the league but might have to win it with a 13-3 record. Running the table didn't seem all that likely as we were so inconsistent and struggling to find an identity.
Yet somehow the team has clicked off 18 wins in a row. I dont care who you're playing that's not easy -- especially on the road. SLU and VCU have high ceilings they are just inconsistent too. We've avoided every pitfall and while we all thought a Top-20 ranking might fit into the equation for most of the year, it didn't happen. Disappointing perhaps but I think this team has also grown a lot over the last two months and perhaps their identity is exactly that: scrapping and clawing and learning how to win ugly when you need to win ugly. Considering how the season started, one might even say Horsmon has had to do a lot of coaching this year to a clean 16-0 A10 regular season record. We had holes. We had struggles. Players hit rough patches. We started the year just trying to figure out who our setter would be.
Horsmon's best coaching job? No. But I think he's gotten more out of this team in the last two months than I probably thought they had in them in late September. And the players have forced me to eat some crow when didn't think they could get to 24-5 at this point. Its been a mixed bag of sorts this season, but overall I think we're still where we want to be: in a position to guarantee our place in the Field of 64 and hoist the A10 season double.
We have won 24 straight A10 matches. On Sunday we're gonna make it 25.
Coverage: ESPN+
The Flyers are fortunate to even be in the Finals after being on life support in set 4 against the Dukes on the Duke Girls home court. A fortuitous serve and then some real guts to run a set of points late got us to a fifth set where we ran out in front for really the first time all match.
In a way, Dayton "Dayton'd" Duquesne in the same way Big10 other Top-15 teams have "Washington'd" us over the last few years. At that absolute critical juncture when you think you're ready to break through for a huge program-defining win, absolute God-given talent and experience takes over and the more powerful team somehow finds a way to pull it out of their rear ends. Horsmon admitted he didnt coach well and we didn't play well. But we're here and that's all that matters.
Knowing Fordham sent SLU and VCU packing should get our attention real quick. They are peaking. But I also think the Dukes match may just be the thing we needed. Perhaps we were getting a tad complacent with 17 wins in a row and thought it would be too easy. Now we know we have to fight and be our best to win. And that's just it: if UD and Fordham play to their ceiling: UD wins 3-0. If UD struggles and Fordham plays to their ceiling the Flyers can get beat.
I dont think that's gonna happen though. I think we're gonna be ready. I think JPete is gonna bring it. She knows this is the last A10 match she'll ever play. I think our block is gonna get going and our serve is gonna be a lever we can pull. We also have one less match on our legs so we should be a tad fresher.
This season started out with such high expectations and we whiffed on all of those non-con primo matchups. The 5-set WSU loss after we totally had that match under control really stung. But we've been perfect since the Michigan loss on September 18th -- or two full months. I thought this was a Flyer team at A10 start that could probably still win the league but might have to win it with a 13-3 record. Running the table didn't seem all that likely as we were so inconsistent and struggling to find an identity.
Yet somehow the team has clicked off 18 wins in a row. I dont care who you're playing that's not easy -- especially on the road. SLU and VCU have high ceilings they are just inconsistent too. We've avoided every pitfall and while we all thought a Top-20 ranking might fit into the equation for most of the year, it didn't happen. Disappointing perhaps but I think this team has also grown a lot over the last two months and perhaps their identity is exactly that: scrapping and clawing and learning how to win ugly when you need to win ugly. Considering how the season started, one might even say Horsmon has had to do a lot of coaching this year to a clean 16-0 A10 regular season record. We had holes. We had struggles. Players hit rough patches. We started the year just trying to figure out who our setter would be.
Horsmon's best coaching job? No. But I think he's gotten more out of this team in the last two months than I probably thought they had in them in late September. And the players have forced me to eat some crow when didn't think they could get to 24-5 at this point. Its been a mixed bag of sorts this season, but overall I think we're still where we want to be: in a position to guarantee our place in the Field of 64 and hoist the A10 season double.
We have won 24 straight A10 matches. On Sunday we're gonna make it 25.