Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
Allie Matters, the second-year Wright State volleyball coach, didn’t devote all her mental energy while facing UIC on Senior Night last week trying to lead her team to a win.
She also took time to soak in the environment.
“We had almost 500 people at our match,” Matters said of the 3-1 victory at McLin Gym that pushed the Raiders’ home record to 11-0. “There were a couple points where I just stood there and looked around.
“We had the band. We put extra seating on the end lines, and those were packed. Other student-athletes and administrators were there. We’ve really created an atmosphere that we’re obviously pretty good playing in.”
There’s not much doubt about that. The Raiders improved to 22-4 overall — their most wins since 1995 — and are tied for first with Green Bay in the Horizon League at 11-3 with two matches left.
After going 11 straight years without a winning league record, they can claim at least a co-title by beating Youngstown State (8-19, 2-12) and Oakland (14-12, 7-7) on the road this weekend.
“We’ve worked on having an amazing culture, but so many of these players have things that just can’t be taught,” Matters said. “They can be encouraged, and it can be brought out, but these kids already had such amazing qualities.”
