Nov. 18, 2006

Box Score

DATYON, Ohio - In the nightcap of day two at the Atlantic 10 Championships, Xavier fell to top-seeded Dayton, 3-0. The semifinal match marked the 56th all-time meeting between the two schools and only the second time the two teams have matched up in the A-10 Championship. The loss moves Xavier to 18-12 on the season, while Dayton improves to 22-8 overall and will face Saint Louis in the championship match tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 pm.

Xavier fell behind quickly in the opening game as UD took a 5-0 lead before the Musketeers got on the board. XU would find the scoreboard reading 7-1 and was forced to take the first timeout to stop the Flyers momentum. Coming out of the timeout, Xavier responded by cutting the lead to within two points at 8-6 and it would remain close until Dayton mounted another run to put the game out of reach. UD would mount an 8-1 run to push its lead to 10 at 25-15 and put game one out of reach. Senior Astyn Bjorklund would tally six kills in the game while junior Jenni Horvath led the way defensively with nine digs.

Game two proved to be the tightest game of the match as 20 ties and six lead changes took place in a back-and-forth contest. Dayton would jump out to a quick 2-0 lead but a block by Jill Quayle and Hillary Otte quickly put the game back in parity at 2-2. The next 22 points would see 11 ties and three lead changes with the score remaining tied at the 13-13 mark. Dayton would put together a four-point stretch that would prove to be all the Flyers would need to pull away for good it seemed with the score 22-18. The Musketeers would respond to tie and take the lead at 23-22 but another quick spurt by UD would put the game away as six of the final eight points to take game two.

The final game of the evening found XU jump out to an early lead but Dayton proved too tough and took over the lead for good at the 5-4 mark. An 8-0 run proved to put an end to the Xavier hopes as UD took a 15-6 advantage and did not look back. A four-point spurt by the Musketeers sparked an idea of a rally by the Blue and White but a quick UD timeout squelched the rally and capped the end of the match.

Freshman Hillary Otte led the way for the Musketeers as the rookie ended the evening with 10 kills, a .304 hitting percentage and two aces. Junior Jenni Horvath established a new career high with 19 digs and also added five kills and five assists. Middles Astyn Bjorklund and Jill Quayle ended with nine and eight kills, respectively and combined for seven block assists. Sophomore Jenn Welsh dished out 31 assists and also added two aces, four block assists and nine digs.

Xavier is now 0-2 when facing the Flyers in the A-10 Championship with the last loss coming in the 2004 season in the championship match at Duquesne.

The loss ends Xavier's season as the team finishes the 2006 campaign with an overall record of 18-12 and 10-3 in the conference. The 10 conference wins marks the third-straight season that XU has recorded 10 or more conference wins.