After a six-match winning streak and a 5-0 start in Atlantic 10 conference play, Xavier volleyball suffered a setback with a loss at George Washington on Oct. 9th.
At George Washington, it appeared that the Musketeers were on the verge of claiming their seventh straight victory.
The Colonials fought back to win the next three sets and take the match, giving Xavier its first conference loss of the season.
Things didn’t get any easier for XU last Friday as they returned to the court at Dayton. The Flyers came into the match with an eight-game winning streak and 31 consecutive victories over A-10 opponents. The Flyers were picked in the preseason by the league’s coaches to claim their third straight A-10 Championship, while Xavier was picked second in the conference.
Dayton was up to the challenge on Friday, defeating Xavier in four sets in front of an amped-up crowd of 2,014, the largest crowd at UD this season. Xavier will meet the defending A-10 champs again on Nov. 4th at Cintas Center.
Head coach Mike Johnson also expects to meet the Flyers a third time in the A-10 championship match, provided that Xavier is able to advance to the title game for the second straight year.
If they do meet the Flyers a third time, it will be another tough road environment against the tournament host-school.
“They are the team standing in the way. Until someone else proves otherwise, they will be in the finals, but we have to take care of everyone else first,” Johnson said.
There is a lot to work on between now and the start of the conference tournament, but Johnson says that he expects the team to learn from its losses and keep working hard.
“There is good that can come out of losses, if you correct them. On the flip side, if we refuse to acknowledge our mistakes, we error twice,” Johnson said.
The Musketeers return to the court this weekend on the road against Fordham and Rhode Island.