After a 3-2 loss against another A-10 rival St. Louis, the weekend did not get any easier for the Colonials Saturday evening against undefeated Dayton.
All the storylines were there, a year almost to the day removed from a marquee defeat of the Flyers to bounce back from a loss to Saint Louis, until Dayton closed the door on the upset story by sweeping the Colonials. Set scores were 25-20, 25-11 and 25-17.
The Colonials (13-7, 3-2 A-10) sprinted out to an early 4-1 lead, with senior libero Maddy Doyle making critical digs from the back line to keep play alive. But, like GW has often allowed opponents to do, the Flyers (13-5, 6-0 A-10) came charging back.
The set became a point-for-point battle until GW managed to break away after a 3-0 run of two sharp kills and an attack error which forced a Dayton timeout. After a double block and service ace, GW clawed ahead to 15-12, but Dayton continued to retaliate and control the tempo for the remainder of the set after going on a 3-0 run.
“We had the lead up until 17-15 and then we just don’t do everything possible to widen the gap when we have one,” head coach Amanda Ault said. “We’ve got to sustain that, we’ve got to dig in and really take care of the leads that we get and try to make them bigger, and if not, just keeping them the same.”
The Flyers got the best of the second-set swings from the start, jumping out to a 4-1 advantage. Throughout the set, the Colonials were unable to shutdown senior outside hitter Alaina Turner, who finished the set with seven kills and contributed to the team’s .519 attack percentage. Turner led all players and finished the night with a blistering 20 kills to GW’s 23 total team kills.
Dayton swung to the back of the court, having GW’s defense scrambling to stop to the attack. GW could not find its rhythm on the offensive side of the ball, amassing only eight kills while committing eight errors, which helped the Flyers climb to a 14-5 lead.
“I think we need to stay confident and understand our system and what we are trying to do,” Ault said. “Defensively, we did some good things tonight, but offensively, I think we fell off and didn’t bring an attack right at them.”
Ault said that without bringing the aggression from the attacking perspective, the team was starting from “behind the eight ball.” She says her players need to stay confident, approach every ball with a strong attack mentality and not be afraid to take advantage of the options on the floor.
In the third set, GW brought the heat defensively. Junior middle blocker Chidima Osuchukwu and sophomore outside hitter Alaiya Davidson double teamed a block to tie the game up 2-2 to open the set. The Flyers found the holes in the floor, went on a run and extended the lead to 6-2. After a solo block by Osuchukwu forced an attack error to get the game back within two at 14-12, the Colonials were unable to capitalize. As the set wore on GW fell apart, and a service error and an attack error propelled Dayton to close the set, 25-17.
Dayton snuffed Osuchukwu at the line and only allowed her to tally two kills on the night. Doyle finished the match with 13 digs and senior setter Jordan Timmer notched 18 assists.
GW ended the weekend 0-2 in the gym where they will compete for a conference title in November, a gym Ault has said many times she wants all league opponents to feel uncomfortable in. Saint Louis and Dayton are two of the conference’s best, but it was not the result GW was expecting, much less hoping for.
“We’ve got some things to work on,” Ault said. “This weekend showed our weaknesses, where we stand as a group and how hard we need to continue to work.”
The Colonials hit the road on Friday to compete against La Salle at 7 p.m.
