Dayton A-10 Champs T for True

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All business. Thats what this trip was. No wait there was a lot of hanging out and just having a great time. But I think what I am trying to say is there was no sight seeing or relaxation. Honestly I searched travel sites and travel blogs and I couldn't really find anything to do in Charlotte. Although, looking back at how busy we were, we wouldn't have had time to sight see or relax, and after what did happen why would we have wanted to.

I could have also titled this "Red Scare's Longest Journey Ever", because that is exactly what it was. This was the Red Scare of the University of Dayton traveling all the way from southwest Ohio to Charlotte. Which sounds like a ridiculous idea if the trip is only going to last from late Friday and we have to be back for classes on Monday, until you hear that we are only following quite possibly one of the best athletic teams this school has ever had. The volleyball team going into that weekend had a record of 28 and 1 and was ranked 16th in the nation. But its more than that. It is more than just the best record in the nation or one of the best teams in the nation, all of us on the trip have become emotionally attached to this team. We have watched so many matches this year as well as last year, have followed their play on the road, and have seen and personally gotten to know a few on this team. We have all witnessed the determination in their eyes and their enjoyment after winning a big match and obviously would not want to miss one of the biggest moments of the season.

Some decided to leave Saturday morning, while myself and a couple others opted to get a head start and make a stop along the way. I knew a friend at VaTech and I figured it would be a nice stop and we'd probably have some fun. The first leg of the trip wasn't great. I-35 in Ohio was fine but after leaving 35 the only good thing that happened until our arrival back onto a major highway in Huntington, WV was a stop at Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers for some fries, a junior bacon cheeseburger and a small Dr. Pepper no ice. Don't even get me started on state route 52 that hugs the Ohio river from Portsmouth to Huntington. I have never been stopped by so many red lights. The West Virginia roads were a little tricky in the dark and I feel I may have missed out on some nice scenery, but we arrived in Blacksburg just a little later than we expected and got a very nice greeting from my friend after a ton of trouble trying to find a parking space on the road.

The Virgina Tech Campus was wide awake at 12:30, which was a pleasant surprise after our Labor Day Weekend Trips to the University of Louisville and the University of Purdue. We climbed some stairs passing some partyers who looked very confused to see three strangers with backpacks and pillows for the overnight. We got a tour from my friend of his apartment (which i don't include as sight seeing) and we just hung out like normal college kids and watched a movie and then grabbed a little shut eye.

We woke up in the morning with no real plan other than the knowledge that we wanted to be on the University of Charlotte campus by 4 at the latest. So we decided to hang out a little longer in Blacksburg. We got on a bus and headed to the campus to take part in an enormous satellite photograph in which the phrase "VT THANKS YOU" was spelled out by people standing on their drill field. This was done due to Va Tech wanting to let everyone else know how grateful they were for all the support they were given to get through the tragedy earlier in the year. It was enjoyable being part of something like that and I can officially say I was in the "H". We were offered some free food at the tailgate before their game against Miami and being college kids we couldn't turn that down. The tail gate was fun and while my friend claims it wasn't big, we were still pretty blown away by how many people were there.

Another bus back to pick up our stuff, and we were off to Charlotte. The other group that left at 5 that morning was basically already there due to Matt's blistering pace behind the wheel and a slightly different way. The three hour trip was exciting due to one section in the road that had signs for 1. a 5 mile fog area 2. a rock slide area 3. a 6% grade most of the way 4. Cross Winds. And if those signs didn't get your attention the three runaway truck ramps did. And the view from the top was spectacular. (Once again really not sight seeing)

So after a check in at the Microtel Inn, we headed over to Halton Arena. We parked the car and right after the other 6 Red Scare members arrived. The party was underway. We had only arrived at what some of us have been waiting for over a year for. We were ecstatic when we finally walked into the arena and we weren't at all disappointed knowing that there were still 30 minutes until game time. The truth was the opposite. We wished we would have been able to get in sooner.

The pre-game warm ups are always enjoyable but were even more enjoyable when a my roommate kyle and I were welcomed with a surprise greeting. A couple of players from another team that we knew were still in Charlotte, and we didn't think we'd get to see them again. But we were wrong, and had one last chance to have a talk with the girls from Fordham. They were not in the best mood after the loss to Temple, but at least excited to tell us to beat Temple for them.

The Dayton vs. Temple match started and Dayton got an early lead in the first game. Neither team playing too well in this game but Dayton was able to win it and the next in roughly the same fashion. Dayton went into the break up 2 to 0 beat we could tell that Dayton did not bring their best game tonight and were a little worried. The third game wasn't necessarily dominated by Temple, but UD didn't score too many points on their own and Temple was really allowing Dayton to stay in the game.

But the tide really turned when a spark was lite underneath us, The Red Scare, when the Fordham Rams questioned our focus and intensity. And for a split second it felt like us fans, were being heckled by an opposing team, which felt good and inspired us. From then on we, and the team were on the top of our game. Dayton took the forth game 30-16 and the match 3-1. Which was our ticket to the finals on Sunday.

An excited Red Scare was hungry after our hard work and victory and only a stop at the hotel was in between us and some much needed dinner. We stopped to ask the front desk where we should go and they recommended Chedders'. We had never heard of it, but were intrigued enough to give it a try. After requesting a table for nine nder the name Jaime Lee we were immediately seated. I was made fun of for ordering some Dr. Pepper with no ice, and was tricked into ordering the hickory smoked full rack of ribs, but everything was good even if it took forever to get it. And the baked potato soup was really good. But we couldn't stay their all night, even crazy fans need to sleep too. So we went to the hotel, watched some classic Keenan and Kel and then got our sleep on.

Sunday began with us attempting to find a Church to go to but that ended in failure. So to lighten the mood and get some food in our stomachs before the tiring activity that is yelling at the Xavier volleyball team, we made a stop at IHOP after checking out. I decided to have the pigs in blankets over the chocolate chip pancakes. I then came up with a strangely symbolic metaphor when I pointed to the four different pancakes and said, "this little piggy upset Illinois, this little piggy swept Purdue, this little piggy beat Temple in the A-10 tourney and this little piggy..." Referring to some of the better more significant matches of the year for the Flyers.

Showing up at the arena early got us nowhere since the Charlotte staff was not prepared for such dedicated fans. We hung out at the library for a while to catch up on a couple days of facebooking. We headed back to the arena, and much to our delight we were able to get in this time. And just in time to watch over 50 minutes of pre-game warm ups. Our studying the names of Xavier players for the third and final time was interrupted by a father of one of the members of the team. Erin Schroeder's dad came over to give us a speech. He told us to not let the Xavier team and fans to steal what is ours and he also let us know that if we lost he would totally kick the crap out of us and the Xavier fans. We were pretty sure he meant it, so we gave 150% during the match. We also had an unexpected siting where the Xavier coach walked past and told us we were great fans. But we decided to paraphrase because he really meant to say "You guys are better fans than our fans."

The first game was a close one Xavier put up a good fight. But it was not enough and for the 29th time this year, the Dayton Flyers won the first game of a match. Xavier clearly felt this and did not come out in game two as good as they did in the first. Numerous Musketeer hitting errors caused by the blocking of Yvonne Marten, and Lindsey led the points for Dayton and an endless amount of frustration for the XU attackers. A-10 player of the year Jill Quayle was even struggling. This was very evident when Coach Deaton pulled her aside and asked if she could her us. The answer was obvious. She could hear us and she wished she couldn't. All this led to a game 2 win for the flyers meaning they only needed one more to clinch what they had been after all year. But there was still one more game to go and Xavier already had one improbably comeback in their match against St. Louis just the day before.

A relaxed Dayton team came back onto the court and we could easily tell after watching this team all semester that this was a good sign. Another good defensive performance was able to stop Xavier and even a hard hitting Hillary Otte who seemed to play better as the weekend went on. Her performance was not enough as the Flyers took down Xavier at 30-23 if i remember correctly. We were instantly jumping all over the place before the final point was on the scoreboard. In total chaos we ran to give the team their victory tunnel even on the Charlotte court. Never has such excitement run through my veins and I couldn't have been more happy for the team and what they just accomplished. The all-tournament team was selected and the team got a picture or two before they waved us down to get in one as well. They came over to thank us for the support and extended an invitation to dinner. How could we turn that down.

Dinner was good and a perfect end to the trip. Hopefully more trips like this will ensue this year or next. I don't care as long as I get to do it again, but a road trip may never be as good as this one.

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Photos

Atkins Library
The largest library in the state of North Carolina.

Halton Arena
Where it all went down.

49er Gold
A sample of gold ore on the UNC Charlotte campus.

A-10 Champs!
Isn't it nice to see such elation on so many faces.

Red Scare Pregame
The Red Scare after Floyd Deaton said we were better than the Xavier fans.