Volleyball Rivalry with VCU
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Think about favorite sports rivalries. What comes to mind when you think of the most competitive rivalry? Is there any chance Dayton vs. VCU in volleyball is what came to mind. While, the matchup is pretty new in the history book, we are currently witnessing two programs that have remained competitive. Dayton and VCU have played 15 times since the black and gold rams have joined the A-10 in 2012. Since then only one match didnt at least make it to a 4th set. That lonely, quick, boring 3-set match was the first of the 15. That means 14 straight matches between these two couldnt be decided in just 3 sets.
Dayton has had some strong conference rivals. Saint Louis and Xavier both come to mind in the last 15 years. SLU joined the A-10 in 2005 and between 05 and 09, UD and SLU traded championships. UD in in the odd years and SLU in the even. Twelve matches pitted UD vs. SLU against each other during this time period, but 4 matches were sweeps. During this memorable rivalry, the longest competitive match streak was 4. UD and Xavier had a three year streak where they met in the A-10 Tournament Finals, so peak UD vs. X was around 2010-2012. These two have a long stretch of competitive matches between 09 and 16. However, in the A-10 Championship match of 2010, Dayton won in 3, ending a four match streak of 5 set matches. At its longest, UD and X played 9 matches from 2011-2016 where neither got a decisive 3 set win.
Rivalry is a tough topic to define. Is the above definition even a good one? Would a better definition be how many 5-set matches? If so, the Dayton vs Xavier rivalry can make a strong case. In 09 and 2010, UD and X played 4 straight 5 set matches. A similar 3 match streak followed between 2012 and 2015. Dayton and SLU only once had back to back 5 set matches. The first of the two matches on 11/22/09 was very memorable. SLU had already won the first two sets and were closing in on a three set victory. A close set most of the way, SLU takes their first 3 point lead at 22-19. Dayton goes on a 6-1 run to win the set, before going on to win sets 4 and 5 and the 2009 A-10 tourney. This match shows that the gap between a 3-set match and a marathon 5-set match can be surprisingly small. Despite these great moments, we only saw one more 5 set match before the teams went their separate ways. Dayton stayed steady with RPIs of 34 and 19 in the years following their peak RPI ranking of 12 in 2010, but SLU slipped from 58 in 2010 to 82, then to 179.
VCU and Dayton havent matched the 4 straight 5-set matches that UD and X had. However, in their last six matches UD and VCU have played five 5-set matches. I have found only three other instances of competition this equal. (Toledo from 1991-2004, Marquette from 1994-2009, and Ohio from 1989-1994). What Im trying to say is, competition like this is rare. Coaches change and students never stop graduating themselves out of every program. Staying at a similar level as another team for an extended period only happens every once and a while. We are still in the middle of this period with VCU and we need to enjoy it before it is gone. The next match could be a 5-set thriller or a blowout that ends the streak.
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Dayton has had some strong conference rivals. Saint Louis and Xavier both come to mind in the last 15 years. SLU joined the A-10 in 2005 and between 05 and 09, UD and SLU traded championships. UD in in the odd years and SLU in the even. Twelve matches pitted UD vs. SLU against each other during this time period, but 4 matches were sweeps. During this memorable rivalry, the longest competitive match streak was 4. UD and Xavier had a three year streak where they met in the A-10 Tournament Finals, so peak UD vs. X was around 2010-2012. These two have a long stretch of competitive matches between 09 and 16. However, in the A-10 Championship match of 2010, Dayton won in 3, ending a four match streak of 5 set matches. At its longest, UD and X played 9 matches from 2011-2016 where neither got a decisive 3 set win.
Rivalry is a tough topic to define. Is the above definition even a good one? Would a better definition be how many 5-set matches? If so, the Dayton vs Xavier rivalry can make a strong case. In 09 and 2010, UD and X played 4 straight 5 set matches. A similar 3 match streak followed between 2012 and 2015. Dayton and SLU only once had back to back 5 set matches. The first of the two matches on 11/22/09 was very memorable. SLU had already won the first two sets and were closing in on a three set victory. A close set most of the way, SLU takes their first 3 point lead at 22-19. Dayton goes on a 6-1 run to win the set, before going on to win sets 4 and 5 and the 2009 A-10 tourney. This match shows that the gap between a 3-set match and a marathon 5-set match can be surprisingly small. Despite these great moments, we only saw one more 5 set match before the teams went their separate ways. Dayton stayed steady with RPIs of 34 and 19 in the years following their peak RPI ranking of 12 in 2010, but SLU slipped from 58 in 2010 to 82, then to 179.
VCU and Dayton havent matched the 4 straight 5-set matches that UD and X had. However, in their last six matches UD and VCU have played five 5-set matches. I have found only three other instances of competition this equal. (Toledo from 1991-2004, Marquette from 1994-2009, and Ohio from 1989-1994). What Im trying to say is, competition like this is rare. Coaches change and students never stop graduating themselves out of every program. Staying at a similar level as another team for an extended period only happens every once and a while. We are still in the middle of this period with VCU and we need to enjoy it before it is gone. The next match could be a 5-set thriller or a blowout that ends the streak.
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