The Flyers will begin the A10 tournament playing against long term rival
St Louis on Friday. In the recent past UD has been a #1 or #2 seed most years. Injuries have caused the flyers to begin the tournament this year as a #5 seed so they will be playing three straight matches if they make it to the finals.
Last weekend was a final tuneup prior to the A10 tournament. The Flyers were looking to beat George Mason on Friday and avenge an earlier loss to
George Washington on Sunday.
The Flyers dominated George Mason on Friday setting up a rematch with George Washington on Sunday.
The Flyers played poorly in my opinion in set 1 but played well in sets 2 -4, and especially well in sets 2 and 3. Megan Campbell played like an absolute beast over the weekend earning Defensive Player of the Week but I thought she should have also been named offensive player of the week. When I asked Matt about Megan's play he responded
"If you look up the word "beast" in a dictionary, it would have her picture! Megan has actually been dealing with a pretty intense knee issue all season. She is a warrior, but I know she has had to adjust some of her movements and normal style of play. She is someone who is always ready to go, always ready to do what it takes to win. I think her aggressiveness this past weekend, especially on quick attacks and from the service line, was what made me the most pleased".
Megan wasn't the only one having a great offensive day. Jill and Alaina combined to hit over .300 against George Washington which will win a lot of matches.
"I thought both of them really went after it yesterday (Sunday), and they did it with control. Both of them can play very high, and have the potential to be a major problem for people to game plan against. When they are engaged on defense, and have an aggressive mentality as attackers, they can be very tough to stop. Of course, it has been great to see Alaina out there after such a long drought from injury. She can change the dynamic of the match, and she gives us a line-up that can cause some match-up problems".
I thought that UD passed the ball well in sets 2 and 3 in particular against George Washington and asked Matt if that impacted their great offense. His response shows that it is tough to analyze the match from a computer screen without stats LOL!
"Our passing numbers were very average for this weekend, but I think Jendryk did a nice job putting up some good sets and the attackers managed the games with aggressiveness and smart hitting. I do think our defenders behind the block were very strong - they executed the game plan and their adjustments, and they were very crisp and aggressive to the ball. I definitely think the defense was strong".
"I thought Ally Morey was as good as she has been all season. I also thought Jenna Jendryk had some really good moments of locating and putting our hitters in one-on-one situations. She was also bombing her jump serve which can cause some issues for our opponents".
On Friday the team begins it's quest for another A10 tournament title and automatic bid to the ncaa tournament. In most recent years the team expected to receive an ncaa tournament bid but this year they must win the A10 championship. But, that doesn't mean that the goals have changed.
"I think we have had the same goal all season long, to win the A-10 Championship. We have had to deal with some injuries and shuffling of the line-up, but we are back to the unit we saw in the first month of the season. I think our players are seeing improvements in their game, and they are energized by what our potential is when we focus on the process. I think we are hungry to go after the next opponent".
"It's all about beating SLU right now. How we need to defend SLU. What our focus needs to be both defensively and offensively to have success against SLU. That is the process. Go out and execute and be aggressive".
The team showed over the weekend that they can win the A10 tournament if they play well. Good luck!
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