Dayton (10-1) beat South Florida twice and Florida Gulf Coast once last weekend at the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament in its first matches since a 3-1 loss to Marquette on Sept. 14 at the Western Kentucky Hyatt Place Invitational. Dayton beat Illinois and Western Kentucky in its first two matches at that event.
Last year, Dayton lost to Marquette and Louisville in non-conference play and didn’t lose again until the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Flyers finished 18-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. They start conference play this weekend with two matches against Rhode Island (5-8) at the Frericks Center: 7 p.m. Friday; and 2 p.m. Saturday.
Dayton began the season ranked 22nd in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll and is now No. 24. In their last nine victories, the Flyers have won in three or four sets, but Horsmon is looking for more consistency from his team. He wants it to find the next gear.
“I think there are some moments right now that we’re just not playing at a top-end level all the time,” he said.
In other Dayton volleyball news:
• Fifth-year outside hitter Lexie Almodovar was named A-10 Player of the Week on Monday. She averaged 5.27 kills per set in three matches in Florida. She became the seventh UD player to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career.
• Earlier this month, junior middle blocker Liana Sarkissian won the same award by averaging 3.36 kills per set in three matches in Kentucky.
In other UD news:
Football: Redshirt senior center Dylan DeMaison is one of 203 semifinalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy. The award is known as “The Academic Heisman.”
DeMaison, a co-captain, has started all 33 games in his UD career and is a mechanical engineering major with a 3.75 grade-point average.
Women’s soccer: Dayton (7-3) split its first two matches in A-10 play, losing 1-0 at Loyola Chicago on Sept. 19 and beating Richmond 4-0 at Baujan Field on Sunday.
Senior forward Noel Blain was named A-10 Player of the Week on Monday after recording three goals and an assist against Richmond. She’s tied for the A-10 lead with eight goals.
Men’s soccer: Dayton (4-1-2) tied Loyola Chicago 2-2 on the road Saturday in its A-10 opener.
Midfielder Hjalti Sigurdsson, a graduate student, was named A-10 Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. He scored two goals against Loyola and one goal in a 1-1 tie against No. 9 Western Michigan on Sept. 18 at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus.
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