Volleyball: Dayton plays defending national champion at home on first day of season

“They’re one of the best-coached teams and programs in the country, so it should be fun,” Dayton coach Tim Horsmon said Monday. “We’d love to see a great crowd here. For our kids who have worked really hard to be able to play against these type of teams, I think that’s awesome. It’s really what we wanted this fall: to challenge them. We know that there could be some lumps, but I think at the end of the year it’s going to make us the best version of ourselves playing the best teams in the country. We see ourselves that way. I don’t think that we’re going to get to where we need to get to if we’re not competing against the best in the country.”

Four months ago, in a season postponed to the spring because of the pandemic, Dayton proved it can compete with the best by advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament before losing a heartbreaker 3-2 to sixth-ranked Washington, which then won two more matches by a 3-2 score to reach the national semifinals, where it lost to Kentucky.

Dayton finished 14-2 and 8-1 in the Atlantic 10 Conference last season. Horsmon said the team gained confidence from the postseason experience.

“I think every coach aspires to get their teams to believe that they can be really good,” Horsmon said, “They know that we have a lot of talent here and we’re doing the right things and we’re continuing to get closer to that goal.”

Even Dayton’s lone preseason match was a big challenge. It lost 3-2 to No. 13 Louisville on Saturday at the Frericks Center.

“I don’t think we played very well,” Horsmon said, “but we went five with the No. 13 team in the country with a freshman center setting. Considering our play, I think that is pretty revealing that we still have some talented players. If we polish things up a little bit and refine some things and get a little more fluid, I think we have the potential to play at a pretty high level.”

Freshman Brooke Nichols played setter the majority of that match. Livie Sandt also saw time at the position. Freshman Alyssa Miller is the third setter. Dayton graduated Bridget Doherty, the A-10 Setter of the Year, leaving that position open.

Prior to playing Kentucky on Friday night, Dayton opens the season with 12:30 p.m. match against Cincinnati. Kentucky plays Texas State in the first match of the day at 10:30 a.m.

Dayton then plays Texas State, which like itself received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll but not enough to make the top 25, at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Dayton was picked to finish first in the A-10 preseason poll, receiving seven of the nine first-place votes. Virginia Commonwealth received the other two votes.

The Flyers return two-time A-10 Player of the Year Jamie Peterson, as well as Amelia Moore, an All-10 second-team selection, and Lexie Almodovar and Alayna Yates, who made the all-rookie team.

The team should also benefit from a strong freshman class.

“Taylor Russell played some right at the beginning of that first match (against Louisville) and had four kills and no errors and hit .500,” Horsmon said. “We really like what she’s going to do. I think she’s going to be one of the better players in this league. I think she’s going to be exceptional. Lia Hawken had a solid first match. Katie Gale didn’t get a lot of time right off the bat, but we think she’s going to be solid for us down the road. And Alyssa Miller we think is incredibly athletic in the setter position.”