Selsky got her wish as the Flyer faithful were out in full force Friday, painted chests, crazy costumes and all. The season-high crowd of 2,014 at the Frericks Center had plenty to cheer about as Dayton toppled Xavier 20-25, 25-18, 25-14, 25-16 in a battle of the top two teams in the Atlantic 10 standings. Dayton remains undefeated in the A-10 at 7-0, while Xavier fell to 5-2 in the conference.
“We’ve had big crowds but this was more intense. That’s the power of Xavier,” Dayton coach Kelly Sheffield said. “Rivalries like this are what makes college athletics fun.”
Despite the raucous Dayton crowd, Xavier captured the early momentum as the Musketeers quickly translated a 10-10 tie into a 14-10 lead. The Flyers were able to knot the contest one more time, 19-19, but couldn’t snag the lead as the Musketeers closed it out 25-20.
“Xavier was playing really well in Game 1, they came out like their pants were on fire,” Sheffield said.
The Flyers made some adjustments and came out firing in the second set. Dayton jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead and never trailed.
“We talked about serving tough and keeping the pressure on them,” Flyers outside hitter Rachel Krabacher said. “We needed to stay one step ahead of them.”
Krabacher did her part as the junior led all players with 25 kills. Shayne Brown and Megan Campbell added 11 and 10 kills, respectively, for the Flyers.
Dayton maintained the momentum through the final two sets, giving up a lead only once.
“We learned something from every game,” Selsky said.
But there is still plenty to learn for the Flyers, who improved to 14-5 and posted their 32nd consecutive win over an A-10 opponent.
The Flyers swept the Musketeers 3-0 during the 2010 season and now have an 11-match home winning streak against Xavier. The last time the Flyers lost at home to the Musketeers was Oct. 3, 2000.
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