The 49ers celebrate their first A-10 point (Photo courtesy of the Dayton Flyers) |
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Volleyball Wins Charlotte's First-Ever A-10 Contest 3-2 Over Dayton
Sept. 23, 2005
Dayton, Ohio - The 49ers volleyball team scored Charlotte's first-ever Atlantic 10 Conference victory in any sport on Friday night, winning a big road match over two-time defending champion Dayton. Charlotte broke into the A-10 win column with a 18-30, 30-26, 38-36, 24-30, 20-18 victory at the Frericks Center.
Reigning Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Week Alma Arroyo again led the 49ers, and all players, with a career-high 28 kills to pace Charlotte (6-9, 1-0 A-10). It was the third time in the last four matches that the sophomore has totaled a new career high in kills to pace the team.
Friday was a night of firsts for 49ers athletics and the University in general as the volleyball team represented Charlotte admirably in its first-ever Atlantic 10 competition.
Among the firsts was senior Abbey Szlanfucht, who scored Charlotte's first-ever A-10 point on a kill, off a pass from Eden Ramos for the inaugural assist in the A-10.
Jessica Oldenburg (18 kills, .375 hitting, 15 digs), Lisa Newell (17 kills, .371 hitting) and Szlanfucht (14 kills, 10 digs) also put up solid numbers for the Niners. Ramos posted a career-high 71 assists in the five-gamer, just missing a double-double with nine digs.
The match victory would not come easily, though, as both teams fought continuously throughout a two-and-a-half hour, five-game battle.
The deciding game was indicative of exactly how hard both teams fought for the match. The 49ers jumped out to a 14-6 lead and match point in the first-to-15 finale, but had to weather a huge Flyers comeback.
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Dayton (5-9, 0-1 A-10) staved off eight straight match point opportunities, battling back to tie the contest at 14-14 on the strength of Mandy Robbe's serve. The Flyers would hold off another 49ers match point opportunity before pulling ahead with three match points of their own.
But like their counterparts, the 49ers battled back every time. Finally, a Lisa Newell kill gave Charlotte a 19-18 advantage, and she combined with Arroyo to block Jamie-Lee Richards' attack attempt and seal the victory.
"Our girls were just really tough down the line, I'm proud of them," said coach Lisa Marston. "Overall it was a good win against a really good team. Alma did it again with 27 kills. Lisa was on fire all night, Oldie too, they both hit over .300 tonight. The first game we didn't execute very well ... I just told them we need to work on our passing and everything else will come. And it did. The fans saw two good offenses tonight.
"What a great match," Marston continued. "For our fans who came to Halton Arena for the Winthrop match (3-2 Charlotte win), this was even better. It was such a fun environment. It was real hot in there, they had a great crowd, fans all over the place. Definitely one of the tougher environments we've played in. But not much time to celebrate - we have to get ready in a hurry for another tough road match tomorrow night at Xavier."
Game three saw the two teams battle into extra time. With Charlotte leading 30-29, the teams literally traded scores back and forth for the next nine points to result in a 34-34 tie.
Dayton finally took the lead on the next point, but the 49ers fought off game point twice to knot it once again at 36. Finally an attack error by the Flyers' Robynne Green followed by an Oldenburg kill gave Charlotte the 38-36 decision and a 2-1 lead in the match.
It was the second extra-long game of the season for the Niners. Earlier this year, the 49ers battled Cornell in one of the NCAA's longest single games at the Duke Tournament, where Charlotte prevailed 40-38 and went on to a 3-2 match win.
Dayton battled back in the fourth, taking a 30-24 decision to send the 49ers' first A-10 match to a fifth game. The Flyers had taken the opener, 30-18, thanks in part to sloppy play by the Niners. They were blocked five times, hitting just .133, and made four "unforced" errors (one ball-handling and three service errors).
The match featured some of the league's best talent, with Dayton's Faye Barhorst (17 kills, 10 blocks Friday night) and Charlotte's Alma Arroyo having taken all three of the A-10's Player of the Week honors so far this season. Barhorst was an all-Atlantic 10 selection and an AVCA All-American last year as the Flyers made their run to the NCAA Tournament.
Charlotte takes on Xavier in Cincinnati on Saturday night as their two-game league road swing continues. Match time is set for 7:00 p.m. and you can follow all the action on GameTracker through Charlotte49ers.com.
