Moore's Solid College Career Winding Down at Averett

Dayton Moore’s four-year college volleyball career at Averett University has been filled with accolades on and off the court.

“It’s been a good four years, a fast four years,” Moore said after her team finished a match this past weekend at Washington and Lee University. “I remember when I was in high school, I thought oh my gosh I’ll never get to college. College has been the fastest four years of my life, but I’ve really enjoyed it.”

After a stellar high school career at Riverheads where she played volleyball for her mom, Amy, Moore was recruited by legendary Averett coach Danny Miller but never had the opportunity to play for him as Miller retired before her arrival. She played her first three seasons for head coach Olivia Earls.

This season her head coach is Emma Nash. Moore and Nash were teammates for three years at Averett before Nash stepped into the head coaching role. 

“It’s really cool because she knows how it is on the court,” Moore said of her former teammate who is now her coach. “She can relate really well to us. She knows exactly how it feels to be out there.”

Moore moved into a starting role right away during her freshman season, averaging 4.46 assists per set. The Cougars finished with a 20-11 record, 10-2 in the ODAC, and advanced to the ODAC tournament championship match. She was named Averett’s female freshman athlete of the year at the Cougars’ Night of Champions. 

As a sophomore, the Cougars were 14-17 and a solid 7-5 in the ODAC. Moore was selected to the National Strength and Conditioning Coaches All-American team. She was named to the ODAC All-Academic team as a sophomore and was a repeat selection to the team as a junior.

Her numbers as a setter rank among the best in program history. Since the sport adopted its current scoring system in 2008, Moore ranks sixth at Averett with 1.728 assists. She also has 848 digs and has an outside chance of cracking the Top 10 in that category.

“I’ve had a lot of talent with me during my career. This year, we’re sometimes only playing three sets a game so I’m just trying to focus on doing my job and the stats will come with that,” said Moore.

Moore has been a three-year captain for the Cougars. This season her leadership skills have been put to the test during a tough season. Averett is 2-13 overall and 0-6 in the tough ODAC.

“It takes a lot of grit to be a captain. Leading a team when things aren’t going your way is really important,” said Moore. “Learning to lead in adversity is something I’m finding out about and it’s something I can take with me for the rest of my life.

“Being a captain is about holding your teammates accountable. I think that’s important. Any good team has a good leader who can hold the team accountable. I like being a leader. I’m vocal on the court and vocal off the court. I like to do things right - the little things. Doing those things right, holding everyone accountable, it’s something I think I’m good at.” 

Following college, Moore hopes to build on those leadership skills and remain in the sport as a coach.

“I’m getting my degree in teaching to teach physical education and hopefully move back to the Valley and find a job there,” said Moore. “I definitely want to coach volleyball somewhere, maybe help my mom, maybe help another program. I definitely want to stay with the sport.”