A10 Opening Weekend

[BeckysTXA]

Biggest shock…GMason sweeps VCU on the road and it wasn’t even that close (12-20-21).

Duquense did not show anything in pre-conference so losing to Davidson 1-3 wasn’t that big of a surprise. It’s going to be a long season for the Dukes. Loyola also beat G Washington 3-1.

And the 2nd biggest surprise is URI gave SLU a thought 5 set match SLU prevailed 3-2. We will see if Flyer alum turned URI head coach Angel Agu can pull the upset today.

Dayton, SLU, G Mason, Davidson and Loyola sit at 1-0.

	Rhode Island RHODE ISLAND The University of Rhode Island was chartered as the state's agricultural school in 1888. The school became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1892. Located in southern Rhode Island, URI is a quintessential New England campus - rural in feeling yet close to the city of Providence, the state's capital. Linked to the city, the beaches, and nearly every corner of the state by both rail and public transit, the campus is easily accessible from Boston and New York URI currently offers 100 majors in seven degree-granting colleges. There are more than 12,000 students on the Kingston campus, about 3,000 in Providence, and a complement of about 700 faculty. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Rams.

	Duquesne DUQUESNE Duquesne University is a private, coeducational university, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania located on 48 secluded acres, on a bluff above downtown. Founded in 1878 as a Catholic college by the Order of the Holy Spirit. It is the only Spiritan institution of higher education in the world. Duquesne offers 10 schools of study and 100 degree programs to 6,000 undergraduates and 3,800 graduate students. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Dukes.

	Saint Louis SAINT LOUIS Saint Louis University is a Jesuit, Catholic university ranked among the top research institutions in the nation. The University fosters the intellectual and character development of more than 12,700 students. Founded in 1818, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi and the second oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Located in St. Louis, MO, and just five minutes from the Gateway Arch, SLU offers 85 undergraduate programs and over 50 graduate study tracks. Over 99% of the SLU faculty hold the highest degree in their respective fields. Fellow member of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Billikens, but also commonly known as "Sloo", the phonetic pronunciation of the school's initials. Athletic claims to fame include multiple national titles in men's soccer and men's basketball star Larry Hughes.

[Sid Louick]

The GMU-VCU game was at GMU.

[BeckysTXA]

Originally Posted by Sid Louick The GMU-VCU game was at GMU.

My mistake. Thanks for the correction. It’s still shocking VCU didn’t win let alone lost by getting swept.

[BeckysTXA]

I’m behind the 8-ball on this one...

VCU head coach Jody Rogers resigned in August The week the season opened. The Richmond newspaper couldn’t get the coach or school to return calls and said they couldn’t due to ongoing legal matters. An assistant coach was named interim coach.

	Richmond UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND Founded in 1830, the private liberal arts university in the Commonwealth boasts 2,800 students in 57 majors within its picturesque 350-acre campus. The Robins School of Business is one of the Top-20 business schools in the country. Nickname is the Spiders and are fellow A10 Conference members.

[BeckysTXA]

VCU did beat GMason to split with them for the weekend. SLU beat URI both days, but both matches went 5 sets. Flyer Alum Angel Agu is the URI head coach. It’s too bad she couldn’t get an upset but that program has to be pleased they are getting better pushing some of the top programs in the conference. Hopefully they stay together and knock a few teams off this year. We need stronger teams in the conference and it will come from the middle and bottom pushing themselves and others above them to get better.

	Rhode Island RHODE ISLAND The University of Rhode Island was chartered as the state's agricultural school in 1888. The school became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1892. Located in southern Rhode Island, URI is a quintessential New England campus - rural in feeling yet close to the city of Providence, the state's capital. Linked to the city, the beaches, and nearly every corner of the state by both rail and public transit, the campus is easily accessible from Boston and New York URI currently offers 100 majors in seven degree-granting colleges. There are more than 12,000 students on the Kingston campus, about 3,000 in Providence, and a complement of about 700 faculty. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Rams.

	Saint Louis SAINT LOUIS Saint Louis University is a Jesuit, Catholic university ranked among the top research institutions in the nation. The University fosters the intellectual and character development of more than 12,700 students. Founded in 1818, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi and the second oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Located in St. Louis, MO, and just five minutes from the Gateway Arch, SLU offers 85 undergraduate programs and over 50 graduate study tracks. Over 99% of the SLU faculty hold the highest degree in their respective fields. Fellow member of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Billikens, but also commonly known as "Sloo", the phonetic pronunciation of the school's initials. Athletic claims to fame include multiple national titles in men's soccer and men's basketball star Larry Hughes.

[Figgie123]

As BeckysTXA opined in the Fordham thread, Lexie took home POW and Mia got ROW. Amelia was co-DPOW as well, so basically 3-for-3.

	Fordham FORDHAM Fordham University is an independent Jesuit university established in 1841 as St. John's College on old Rose Hill Manor in the village of Fordham, then part of Westchester County in the Bronx, NY. The name Fordham is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words "ford" and "ham," meaning a wading place or ford by a settlement. Rose Hill is the name given to the site in 1787 by Robert Watts, a wealthy New York merchant, in honor of his family's ancestral home of the same name in Scotland. The College was originally staffed by diocesan clergy. The name was officially changed to Fordham University in 1907. Fordham's 10 schools enroll 14,448 students. There are 7,652 undergraduates, of whom 3,842 live in University-managed housing either on-campus or in the local community. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Rams. Athletic claim to fame is consistent mediocrity in nearly all sports and few A10 title winning programs.

[BeckysTXA]

Originally Posted by Figgie123 As BeckysTXA opined in the Fordham thread, Lexie took home POW and Mia got ROW. Amelia was co-DPOW as well, so basically 3-for-3.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Lexie and Mia were on fire from the left pin. Both put up All-American numbers for the weekend. I couldn’t imagine anyone else coming close. And Amelia was just so solid with her block. The biggest improvement she has made this year is she is closing the block going left so much better and for the weekend she would have been blocking with Mia and Lexie on the left. When you are right handed, the more natural move is to the right OH from the middle. The footwork isn’t as natural going left, so often times the Middle is simply a couple seconds slow going left to close the block. You also tend to anticipate right because that’s were most of the sets go…to your opponents’ two left OHs. Amelia is closing much better going left this year. Glad to see whoever votes on this each week did not get hung up on honoring 3 players from the same team.