SPORTS

 

DAVIDSON, N.C. — As the regular season finale draws near, the Davidson volleyball program will celebrate its Senior Day on Friday evening, as the ‘Cats welcome Atlantic 10 foe, Dayton University, into Belk Arena. The Wildcats will host the Flyers for just a single match at 5 p.m., and complete coverage for the contest is available at davidsonwildcats.com/coverage.

 

SENIOR CELEBRATIONS… In addition to hosting Dayton, the Wildcats will also honor their three graduating seniors prior to Friday night’s first serve. Sydney Champaigne, Ellie Crosley and Remi Lehnertz have all been four-year members of the Davidson volleyball program and will graduate later this spring. As a trio, Champaigne, Crosley and Lehnertz have competed in a combined 735 sets, while recording 694 kills and 878 digs.

LAST TIME OUT… Davidson dropped to 2-7 overall and 1-6 in conference play last weekend, after losing a pair of matches to Dayton and Duquesne, respectively. Across both matches, senior Remi Lehnertz led the way offensively with a combined 17 kills.

BRADY’S RISE… Freshman Bella Brady has been Davidson’s anchor this season, with the Florida native earning the Atlantic 10’s Rookie of the Week honor twice already this year. Currently, the rookie is fourth in the league with 138 total digs and is second in the conference, averaging 5.11 digs per set. Brady has reached double figures in digs in all nine of the Wildcats’ matches this season, and has dished 25 assists.

THE MARCH OF THE ROOKIES…  In addition to Brady’s solid start, the rest of Davidson’s freshmen are also making an impact on the court. Joining Brady in the back row, Sophia Hritz had herself a breakout weekend, against Saint Louis last month, recording a new career-high 17 digs in match two against the Billikens. Texas native and fellow rookie Sola Omonije also had a strong second match against SLU, as she recorded a career-high eight kills and .263 attack percentage. To date, Omonije has 41 kills and 53.5 points combined this year, which is good for second most on the team. Freshman setter Jessie Doyal has also made herself a staple in Davidson’s lineup, as the Georgia native has 111 assists and is averaging 3.70 per set.

ALL-TIME VS. THE FLYERS… After just losing to Dayton last weekend, 3-0, the ‘Cats will welcome the Flyers on Friday and look to defeat the Atlantic 10 team for the first time since joining the Atlantic 10 in 2014-15. The ‘Cats have not taken a set from the Flyers since September 2018.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING… Davidson’s lone league win of the 2021 spring season, has come in a 3-2 result over VCU. Using all 12 active players, the Wildcats defeated the Rams for just the second time in program history and the first time since 1994. The ‘Cats were solid all across the floor and had their most consistent outing of the season, as freshman Bella Brady recorded a match-high 30 digs, Sydney Champaigne and Jessie Doyal combined for 53 assists and Remi Lehnertz notched 18 kills. Brady, Doyal and Lehnertz all reached new career-highs in the contest, while Lehnertz recorded her second double-double in as many days, as the senior added 19 digs to the scoresheet. Doyal, the rookie out of Peachtree City, Georgia, also collected a new career-high in digs in the win, with 16.