Dayton falls at Xavier… yet again

UD hasn’t won against Xavier on their on turf since Jan. 10, 1981. Jimmy Carter was president then. The streak continued last night as they lost, 66-61.
© 2013 Ethan Klosterman.
Dayton snaps Murray State’s 16-game streak

The University of Dayton brought Murray State University’s 16-game road winning streak to a skidding halt, Dec. 22. The Racers came in as favorites considering its 75-58 win against UD last year and its advancement to the round of 32 in this past NCAA tournament. UD, coming off a one point loss to Illinois State four days earlier, played all out and surprised a lot of people with a 77-68 win. It was easily the most exciting game the Flyers have played at home thus far this season. The 12,500+ fans inside UD Arena were as loud as I’ve heard them in many games. It was electric!
Tech note: I set up a post remote with a D300s and a 17-35mm f/2.8 set to 17mm (thanks, Erik!) and got lucky a few times. I was also shooting with the Nikon D800e and some different glass for the game (thanks, Isaac!). Word to the wise: if you’re shooting the D800 for sports, make sure you have big CF/SD cards. Those ~37mb RAW files fill up cards very quickly, but the 36 gorgeous megapixels are a welcome change from the usual 12! Cropping heaven!
© 2012 Ethan Klosterman
UD falls short against Illinois State 74-73

The Flyers were back at home taking on Illinois State University, on Wednesday, Dec. 19. UD faced a physical and quick Redbird team that had them down by two at halftime. The Flyers battled through the second half and had 29 seconds to make the game-winning shot. Despite two attempts in the last 10 seconds, they could not get a shot to fall. The Flyers are now 8-3 on the season.
Even worse than the loss at home was redshirt senior guard Kevin Dillard having to leave the game abruptly with about four minutes to go in the second half due to an apparent back problem. I was about five feet from him after he hobbled to the bench, and he sounded like he was in excruciating pain in his “whole back.” After a couple minutes of grimacing and cursing on the bench, he left the gym floor with team trainer Nate Seymour and did not return.
© 2012 Ethan Klosterman
Flyers shut down Florida Atlantic

The Flyers hosted Florida Atlantic University at UD Arena Dec. 15. After finding a bit of a rhythm over the last three games, the Flyers dominated the Owls. UD extended its winning streak to four, with the 81-56 victory. Here’s some of what I saw.
Matt Derenbecker was lighting it up from beyond the arc. He went 5-of-8 for a career-high 15 points.
© 2012 Ethan Klosterman
Men’s & women’s soccer: August & September
These are some of my favorites from Baujan Field thus far this season.
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UD women’s volleyball: August & September

Here are a few favorites from the University of Dayton women’s volleyball team’s games from late August through mid-September at the Frericks Center.
Photo nerd note: Exposure is around 1/500th at f/2.8 at ISO 4000. To top it off, the lights cycle which makes for even more fun frame-to-frame. To overcome the technical challenges, on my Nikon D300s, I shoot with a 70-200mm almost exclusively. I shoot in manual always staying at f/2.8. I activate auto-ISO with a limit of 3200 which is way higher than I’d like, but there’s no getting around it considering how dark the building is. With those set, as the play develops and where it’s happening, I scroll through shutter speeds from 1/160-1/500th. I dial in a custom WB of around 3230K and shoot RAW (as usual) to deal with the WB shifts. There are few angles with clean backgrounds that allow me to get faces and expression without distractions in the BG. Needless to say, it’s a very challenging place to make pictures.
Volleyball-wise, it’s a great environment. The Red Scare is loud and energetic, and it’s a cozy place overall. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt to be ranked in the top-20 either.