Volleyball season ends in 3-0 loss to Dayton

By: Kayla Panu

Posted: 11/15/07

11/15/07 - After losing to Xavier University (3-0) Friday and the University of Dayton (3-0) Saturday, the University of Rhode Island volleyball team lost the three-way tiebreaker for the final two spots in the Atlantic 10 Championship tournament, ending its season.

URI was tied with Fordham University, George Washington University, and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, all with records 5-8.

"We lost because of our head-to-head loss to George Washington," head coach Bob Schneck said about an earlier match. "We have three more losses and are still tied with Fordham. It doesn't sit real well. We needed to be better and not count on other teams' losses."

Dayton, ranked No. 16, is the No. 1 seed in the A-10 Tournament after defeating URI. The Rams lost 30-12, 30-18 and 30-16.

Schneck said that Dayton had a taller and more physical team and it capitalized on the unforced errors his team made.

"They [Dayton] were too hard to handle for us right now," he said.

Sophomore Caitlyn Welsh had six kills while freshman Lindsay Lytle had five with four digs. Junior Peggy Doino had 12 digs and senior Kaira Kachadurian had 17 assists in her final game for URI.

"I thought that Peggy probably fought as hard as any liberos with digging balls," Schneck said.

Doino also had 12 digs against Xavier. The Musketeers defeated the Rams 30-10, 30-20 and 30-22.

"It was very difficult for a young team to meet that much adversity," Schneck said.

He also said that was some very unsportsmanlike behavior from the crowd in Xavier against the URI players.

Junior Chinny Okpara, Welsh, and freshman Lauren McIntosh all had six kills, while Kachadurian had 18 assists.

Xavier is the No. 2 seed in the A-10 Tournament now followed by St. Louis University, Temple University, Fordham, and George Washington.

"Our young kids were very close to ascertaining our goal," Schneck said.

At the beginning of the season, their goals were to bat .500 and make it to the A-10 Championships. They finished with a record of 13-15 (5-8 A-10).

"It was pretty hard with who we had left on the schedule," Schneck said. "The team that we had, minus Kayla Newberg, playing on the road against the two toughest places was a pretty tall order. No one expected us to win."

Newberg, a freshman, was out for the rest of the season after injuring her ACL in a warm up before playing St. Louis.

"I'm absolutely thrilled with our production," Schneck said about his team this season. "The team was easy to work with being well-behaved and motivated to do well. They are probably the best bunch of kids in my 27 years of coaching."

Yesterday was the early signing date to sign new players to the team. The Rams expect to have four girls coming in, Schneck said, to make the team better for next season. The Rams also plan on Newberg coming back ready to go after she heals her ACL.

The spring will consist of working on the team's skill and game.

"I'm looking forward to getting all the kids together," Schneck said. "It will be a lot of talent."