Musketeers end Dayton Flyers' winning streak

Senior Michelle Matia recorded 10 kills, a solo block and six assisted blocks in her final career home game Friday night against archrival Dayton.

Xavier's three seniors, Matia, Kathryn Traut and Emily Mayers, went out with a bang, as XU snapped Dayton's 36-match winning streak against Atlantic 10 Conference teams, dating back to 2009.

"It was a great night for the seniors. Michelle, Kathryn and Emily have all made a tangible impact on our success. For them to go out like that, you couldn't have scripted it any better," head coach Mike Johnson said.

Redshirt sophomore Alex Smith and sophomore Kelsey Dunaway led the Musketeers with 15 kills each against the Flyers, a season high for Smith, and a career high for Dunaway.

Sophomore Sarah Brown and freshman Aubree Smith recorded their fourth and third double-doubles of the season, respectively.

Smith's performance earned her a sixth A-10 Rookie of the Week honor this season, which ties the school record.

Smith also tallied her 1,011th career assist this weekend, which astonishingly moves her into the top-10 in school history, as a freshman.

The win over Dayton completes a perfect 8-0 season at Cintas Center and ensures that Xavier will not have to face Dayton again, the league favorites, until at least the finals or semifinals of the A-10 Tournament.

A win this Friday against St. Louis would clinch a number two seed, which could potentially set up a Dayton vs. Xavier championship match for the second year in a row.

"The fact that we've beaten them once means that we can beat them again. But not much has changed. We always thought we could beat them and we can't look past any other opponents either," Johnson said.

Xavier followed up the win over Dayton with a sweep on the road against LaSalle on Sunday.

The Musketeers now stand at 18-9 on the season and 10-3 in A-10 play.

As far as seeding implications are concerned heading into the final weekend of the regular season, Johnson says that his team is just concentrating on winning every game that they can with the ultimate goal of winning the whole conference.