Saturday night started as a great night for the University of Dayton’s women’s volleyball program. It ended as an embarrassment for the program and the athletic department.
Dayton played host to in-state rival Ohio State on Saturday night. As one would probably expect, it was a much anticipated and heavily attended matchup. In fact, the Dayton women’s volleyball team’s official X formerly Twitter) page shared that 4,196 people were in Frericks Center to watch the match.
The post’s caption read, “Record-Breaking Night in Frericks.”
𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝-𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 ✈️🏐 #GoFlyers // #FlyerLegacy pic.twitter.com/LlGY0sGR3J
— Dayton Volleyball (@DaytonVB) September 1, 2024
The two teams split the first two sets, so it looked like those 4,196 people were going to see a good match. But roughly an hour after after the attendance post came another.
“Due to playing conditions and out of an abundance of caution for the health of the student-athletes, tonight’s match between No. 22 Dayton and RV Ohio State has been ruled a no contest,” the post said.
Thank you, Flyer Faithful#UDVB // #GoFlyers // #FlyerLegacy pic.twitter.com/nnsyy3qalr
— Dayton Volleyball (@DaytonVB) September 1, 2024
So, what happened?
“Humidity caused the playing surface to become unplayable,” a post on Dayton’s Athletics website revealed. “The UD and OSU coaching staffs as well as officials, decided to declare the match a no-contest.”
It also included a statement from Dayton’s coach, Tim Horsmon.
“We want to thank every fan that came to the Frericks Center tonight,” Horsmon said. “Thank you to every fan that remained patient as staff tried to make the floor playable. We wish we could have finished the match with Ohio State and think it would have been a great one, but we appreciate you for understanding that the health and safety of our student-athletes is our top priority. Most of all – thank you for being the absolute best fans in the country.”
Other images shared on social media showed how bad the situation was. One showed several people on the court trying to clean it up during a break in the match.
The scene from the Frericks Center during the intermission of a 1-1 match between #22 Dayton, RV Ohio State pic.twitter.com/d9gITUtbx5
— Chris Kleinhans-Schulz (@TheKleinhans) September 1, 2024
While the match was being played, people inside the packed building, which does not have air conditioning, were waiving fans trying to cool down.
Frericks is POPPIN’ ✈️🏐#GoFlyers // @NCAAVolleyball pic.twitter.com/pzQ8DM16WU
— Dayton Flyers (@DaytonFlyers) August 31, 2024
[Dayton Volleyball on X, DaytonFlyers.com, Photo Credit: Chris Kleinhans-Schulz on X]
