Volleyball Opens A-10 Play with Saint Louis, Dayton

Friday, September 21

Washington, D.C.

7:00 p.m.

George Washington University

Saint Louis

Buy Tickets

9/20/2018 12:38:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Colonials enter conference play on four-match winning streak

WASHINGTON - Conference play has arrived for GW volleyball as the Colonials welcome Saint Louis (Friday 7 p.m.) and Dayton (Saturday 5 p.m.) to the Smith Center for the opening weekend of Atlantic 10 play.

ABOUT LAST WEEKEND: The Colonials notched a perfect weekend hosting the Dig The District Invitational, sweeping Alabama A&M and Coppin State while registering a riveting five-set comeback over Morgan State. Junior Skylar Iott paced GW with 4.09 kills/set and was second on the team with 3.18 digs/set. She was named to the All-Tournament team as were junior setter Jaimeson Lee (10.73 assists/set, 2.55 digs/set) and junior outside hitter Jordan Young (3.17 kills/set).

ACROSS THE NET: In an odd quirk of the schedule, GW finished the 2017 regular season at home against the Billikens and Flyers before facing off against the same two teams in the A-10 Tournament. As a result, it will be six straight conference matchups against the same two teams.

Saint Louis has faced a rigorous schedule and comes in with a 1-11 mark with its lone win over Central Michigan. The Billikens were projected to finish third in the preseason A-10 poll and return a pair of dynamic outside hitters in first team all-conference selection Sien Gallop and last year's A-10 Rookie of the Year Maya Taylor. Taylor is second in the league and top-50 in the nation in kills per set (4.24) and points per set (4.55)

Dayton was the league's unanimous choice to finish second in the preseason poll and enters conference play with a 9-4 mark and a four-game winning streak. Lauren Bruns has won consecutive A-10 Player of the Week awards and currently leads the league in kills per set (4.37) and points per set (4.74). The Flyers are the best attacking team in the league by percentage, ranking 19th in the nation at .276.

BOWMAN HONORED BY LEAGUE: First-year libero Bella Bowman earned her first career weekly honor, garnering the A-10 Rookie of the Week accolade on Monday. Last week, Bowman averaged a team-best 4.36 digs per set as she continued her strong initial campaign. The Louisville, Ky. native has tallied at least 11 digs in every match and has totaled over 20 on five occasions while playing every set as the team's libero.

FIVE-SET PHENOMS: Four of GW's six victories this season have been five-set wins, including last Friday's triumph over Morgan State in which the Colonials staved off three match points in the third set and came back to win. Dating back to last year, the Colonials have triumphed in eight straight five-set matches and are now 9-2 in those situations under second-year head coach Sarah Bernson.

ROLLING INTO LEAGUE PLAY: The Colonials enter this weekend on a four-game winning streak, the longest in Bernson's tenure. GW last won four straight matches from Sept. 22-Oct. 4, 2015 when the Buff and Blue opened conference play 3-0. The last five-game winning streak came earlier that year from Sept. 4-12.

AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS: Here's where the Colonials stand among A-10 foes entering conference competition:

Bowman: 4th total digs (199), 3rd digs/set (4.52)
Callie Fauntleory: 2nd blocks/set (1.23)
Iott: 2nd total attacks (522), 3rd total points (189.0), 4th total kills (168), 4th kills/set (3.82), 4th points/set (4.3)
Jaimeson Lee: 2nd total assists (431), 2nd assists/set (9.80), 7th total digs (150), 10th digs/set (3.41)
Alexis Lete: 6th attack pct. (.328), 7th block solos (4), 9th block assists (31), 9th total blocks (35)
Jordan Young: 1st services aces (17), 1st service aces/set (0.44), 8th points/set (3.2)
Team: 3rd digs/set (16.25), 3rd blocks/set (2.18), 4th kills/set (12.02), 4th assists/set (11.32), 4th service aces/set (1.25), 4th points/set (15.5)

COMING UP: GW has just one match next week, making the short trip to Fairfax, Va., to take on George Mason on Friday at 7 p.m. The Colonials return home the following weekend with matchups against Fordham and Rhode Island.