Scores: VCU 3, Davidson 1 (17-25, 25-17, 25-13, 25-13)
Location: Davidson, N.C.
Records: VCU 7-7 (1-0 A-10), Davidson 2-9 (0-1 A-10) 

THE BASICS

• Seniors Janelle Sykes and Cecilia Aragao sparked VCU to its fifth straight victory with 18 kills and 48 assists, respectively in the Rams' Atlantic 10 Conference opener. The match was Davidson's first as a member of the A-10.
• The reigning A-10 Defensive Player of the Week, Sykes hit .433 with five blocks, including two solos.
• Offensively, Sykes got plenty of assistance from junior Kalah Jones (13 kills), as well as a breakout performance from freshman Libby Haslett.
• Freshmen Mary Kilbane and Rebekah Strange added 15 and 14 digs, respectively.
• VCU served up seven aces in the match, outdug the Wildcats 53-40 and outhit the hosts .221 to .102.

• The Rams got off to a slow start and Davidson capitalized with a 25-17 victory in the opening set. The Rams hit -.054 in the opening frame and committed 13 hitting errors. VCU would commit just 14 more in the final three sets.
• From the second set on, VCU was dominant, notably on the offensive end. The Rams hit .323 in the final three sets.

QUOTABLE FROM COACH JODY ROGERS
"Started a little slow out of the gates. Concise scouting reports. so focused on what they doing and weren't focused on what we were doing. But once the offense started going we got better. We were passing well, just weren't putting balls away. Kudos to Davidson, but we were able to play better as the game went on. It was the first A-10 match for them and I think they might have been a little more pumped up than us at first. But we settled down and got the win."

"It's a great start to the weekend and the A-10 schedule. We'll celebrate a little bit but then we've got to get back to work."

• VCU's five-match win streak is the squad's longest since a seven-match unbeaten stretch from Oct. 18-Nov. 3 last season.
• The match was a coming out party for Haslett. The freshman outside hitter had played in just four sets and had recorded three kills this season prior to Saturday's match.