Close matches for volleyball

The Xavier volleyball team had the daunting task of facing two undefeated teams in consecutive matches on the same day last Friday in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Musketeers' opponents on Friday morning and Friday evening went into the weekend with a combined record of 20-0.

Xavier rose to the challenge with a tournament opening win over Texas A&M in a five set thriller to hand the Aggies their first loss of the season.

The win also marked the first time any team had even pushed the Aggies to a five set match this season.

The next team that stood in XU's way was the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan, the host school of the tournament, came into their match against Xavier with a national ranking of No. 18 by the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, and like Texas A&M, a spotless record.

The match didn't start according to plan for the Musketeers, as they dropped the first two sets. The Muskies fought back, however, with a 27-25 win in the third set. In the fourth set, they came up just short with a score of 25-23.

Head coach Mike Johnson was happy with the win over Texas A&M and proud of the effort in the Michigan match.

Johnson gives credit to his team for showing composure in a ‘raucous environment' against the Wolverines on their home court and hopes to have the same advantage in a five game home stand that began Tuesday night against Wright State in the Cintas Center.

On Sunday, however, Johnson noted that it was a disappointing to end the tournament with a loss to Toledo.

"Learning to win at this level is new for these kids. It takes a level of maturity to understand that teams don't care who you've beaten or played with. In the Toledo match, we lost sight of that," Johnson said.

Tuesday night's victory over Wright State served as the last tune-up before A-10 conference play begins.

Johnson says that his team needs to keep getting better.

"Our results have shown that we've made progress," Johnson said, "but we must have internal successes." Johnson explained "internal successes" as continuing to get better throughout the year no matter the opponent each match.

"It's nice [to finally have some home matches]," Johnson said. "We played in some very hostile environments on the road. I hope our students come up in droves to learn how exciting and emotional a volleyball match can be," Johnson said.

The Musketeers will be in action next at home this Friday in the A-10 season opener at 7:00 p.m. against Temple in Cintas Center. On Saturday, they'll remain at home to face A-10 foe La Salle at 4 p.m.