Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament First Round
Score: #3 Dayton 3, #6 VCU 1 (25-18, 25-21, 20-25, 25-16)
Location: St. Louis, Mo. (Chaifetz Pavilion)
Records: VCU 14-17, Dayton19-13
 
The short story: Sophomore outside hitters Parker Hartzell and Kialah Jefferson combined for 23 kills, and senior outside hitter Qairo Bentley supplied a team-high 14.5 points, but it wasn't enough for sixth-seeded VCU to hold off third-seeded Dayton Friday in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.
 
OPENING VOLLEY

• Bentley, who was named All-Atlantic 10 Conference First Team on Thursday turned in a nine-kill, 15-dig, four-ace, three-block effort Thursday for the Rams
• Jefferson led VCU with 13 kills on 37 attempts and also kicked in nine digs. Hartzell hit .304 with 10 kills
• Sophomore setter Corinna Jones handed out 37 assists with nine digs for the Black and Gold
• Lexie Almodovar led Dayton with 17 kills, while hitting .318 

THE DIFFERENCE

• Dayton hit .276 in the match, while the Rams were held to a .167 mark
• The Flyers also outblocked VCU 11-6 and served up nine aces
• A Bentley service ace tied the second set at 12-12, but the Flyers scored six of the next eight points to take an 18-14 lead they would not relinquish
• The Flyers used a 7-0 burst, capped by a pair of Almodovar kills, to grab a commanding 10-3 lead in the fourth set. The Rams rallied to within 17-15, but Dayton responded with an 8-1 run to close the match

NEXT UP
VCU's 2022 season is complete.