Gobble Gobble GAMEDAY and Good Morning Rams! The Docket may not arrive with a turkey dish and some sweet sides for the week of November 19th, 2018 but we got plenty of VCU Black & Gold Goodness to jump into. Make sure those hands are washed before diving in…holiday manners are mandatory. So what’s on the Docket this week?!

VCU Volleyball: Champs Dethroned

The Atlantic 10 Volleyball Tournament finally arrived at the Siegel Center. VCU Volleyball made quick work of Saint Louis with a sweep over the Billikens in the A-10 Semi-Finals. A match dominated by defending with the Black & Gold collecting 24 total blocks against Saint Louis. Tori Baldwin led VCU with 7 blocks.

Championship Sunday featured a rematch of last year’s prizefight as VCU defended their A-10 title versus Dayton. The match went the distance with the Flyers rallying and celebrating with a 3-2 championship victory. A gutted VCU Volleyball team came up just short and watched Dayton raise the 2018 A-10 Volleyball Championship on their home floor. 😭

A sour note to another solid season of VCU Volleyball. The Rams finished the year at 19-9 overall and 13-1 in Atlantic 10 Play. VCU made their second consecutive trip to the A-10 Final and hold a 30-2 league record spanning two seasons. Vicky Giommarini, Gina Tuzzolo, and Jasmin Sneed represented VCU on the A-10 All-Tournament team.

While a trip to the NCAA Tournament seems doubtful without the A-10 auto-bid, the Selection Show will unveil the bracket on ESPNU this week. A special 👏Cheers to the Seniors👏towards VCU’s Julia Adler and Tori Baldwin. Adler racked up 729 kills and 342 blocks as a four-year starter for the Rams. Baldwin leaves VCU as the all-time career block leader with 519 blocks. 🏐

Sunday, November 25^th: NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Bracket Reveal (8:30 PM. 📺: ESPNU)

VCU Women’s Basketball: 1-for-2 versus the ACC

Last week featured VCU Women’s Basketball taking on the Atlantic Coast Conference on two separate occasions. First up was a trip to Chapel Hill to take on North Carolina. The Rams kept close with the Tar Heels until UNC outscored VCU 16-4 in the 3rd quarter. VCU knocked down 21 points in the fourth but the Tar Heels collected the 59-47 victory. Sydnei Archie played for 25 minutes and had 11 points, 5 rebounds, and a block.

VCU turned their fortune around back at the Siegel Center versus Wake Forest. Even with a tough outing in the first two quarters shooting under 25%, the Rams made a comeback against the Demon Deacons. VCU outscored Wake Forest 38-12 in the second half and forced 24 turnovers from the visitors. Taya Robinson and Tera Reed both scored in the double-digits as VCU collected their first win over an ACC school since 2009 after defeating Wake Forest 53-40.

What a difference a year has made for VCU Women’s Basketball. The Rams sit at 3-1 overall and playing at full strength which was last year’s horror story. VCU has multiple scorers capable of getting the hot hand plus a crew of rebounders that could get better with more playing time.

More playing time is on the menu for VCU in the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic this week. VCU will be giving thanks in San Antonio and playing against Weber State and IUPUI over the weekend.🏀

Friday, November 23^rd: VCU vs. Weber State (3 PM)

Sunday, November 25^th: VCU vs. IUPUI (1 PM)

*All Games being played at UTSA in San Antonio, Texas

VCU Men’s Basketball: Become Legend

Monday begins a busy week for VCU Men’s Basketball with 3 games over the next 7 days. After taking down Bowling Green 72-61 at the Siegel Center, the Rams touched down in Brooklyn, New York for their next pair of games in the Legends Classic.

Starting off with a battle of unbeaten squads inside the Barclays Center between VCU (3-0) and Temple (4-0). The Owls are off to their best start since the 2012-13 season; that Temple team won its first six games and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Temple is led by senior guard Shizz Alston, Jr. He became the 53rd owl in Temple history to reach the 1,000 point plateau and has a knack for scoring with a 21.5 PPG average across 4 games. Joining Alston is Quinton Rose making a good 1-2 combo guard punch for the Owls. Down in the trenches is Nate Pierre-Louis and Ernest Aflakpui collecting rebounds however not outright. Temple is averaging nearly 38 rebounds per contest with those two forwards doing over 60% of that workload.

VCU will be going to war with a Temple defense that enjoys pressing. The Owls forced 72 turnovers so far this season and swiped the ball 39 times on steals. One thing VCU does have to their advantage is depth with Temple not having a deep bench. Could be a battle of strength versus stamina in Brooklyn.

Following the results of that contest, VCU will take on either California (1-1) or St. John’s (3-0) the following night. VCU then flies back home to the Siegel Center to face-off with a familiar foe from the CAA days in Hofstra (2-2) Saturday night. Don’t go for seconds just yet. 🏀

Legends Classic – Barclays Center

Monday, November 19^th: VCU vs. Temple (9:30 PM, 📺: ESPN3)

Tuesday, November 20^th: VCU vs. St. John’s (7:30 PM, 📺: ESPN2)

Saturday, November 24^th: VCU vs. Hofstra (7 PM at Siegel Center, 📺: MASN, ESPN+)

Annnndddd…that’s the Docket this week! Enjoy Thanksgiving and it is acceptable to have multiple plates during the feeding festivities. No matter what anyone says. Before the feast hit the Like on Facebook, the follow on Twitter and a glance over at VCUSports.com! Gobble Gobble and Go Rams! #LetsGoVCU 🐏

Mark Turner

Mark graduated from VCU in 2014 with a major in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology. He started as a fan of the Black & Gold in the stands his freshman year. Mark was known as "Kazie" for his charismatic fandom with the VCU's student organization the Rowdy Rams. While at VCU he gained experience in sports media with WVCW on a sports radio show called Rowdy Radio. Following graduation, Mark continued crafting his social media skills with the Richmond Kickers while also handling VCU coverage. He is a true fan of the Rams and vocally passionate on and off camera. After the final whistle, you can probably find him at local RVA bar or brewery enjoying a drink and conversation.