Dec. 3, 2004

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Despite making a valiant effort, the University of Dayton volleyball team lost to No. Ohio State 0-3 (25-30, 30-32, 22-30) in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in front of 1,477 fans at St. John Arena.

"Tonight was a tremendous game," Dayton head coach Tim Horsmon commented, "We played a great team and played in front of a great crowd. I told my players after the game that they played tremendously and gave everything they could. I am very proud of the things they did tonight even though the outcome wasn't what we wanted."

The loss ends Dayton's season at 23-9 after its second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament following an Atlantic 10 Championship. Ohio State, who was seeded fifth in the Tourney, improved to 28-3 overall and will take on Ohio University in Saturday Second Round match at 7 p.m.

UD was led by 2004 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Christy Utnage (Indianapolis, IN) who completed her collegiate career with 16 kills, 13 digs and two blocks. The senior outside hitter finished as one of just five Flyers to record both 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills in a career and ranks fifth and ninth respectively in those categories while also placing third in single-season attack attempts and fifth in single-season kills.

Freshman Robynne Green (Palatine, IL) made an impact in her first NCAA Tournament match as the A-10 All-Rookie Team selection hit .348 with 10 kills and three blocks to go along with four digs.

"The experience gained from tonight is unbelievable," Green said. "For all of us it was our first time in a game like this. Tonight made us hungry to get back on the court as soon as possible to prepare for next year. We know what it is like to be on the next level and we want to go back and win."

Utnage and Green were joined in double-digits in kills by sophomore All A-10 pick Faye Barhorst. The Fort Loramie, OH native finished with 10 on 27 swings as well as three blocks.

"We played a great opponent who showed why they should be a Top 5 seed," Barhorst said. "Tonight proved how important it is to convert the little things."

Overall, the Flyers hit 48 kills on the night behind junior setter Nicole Schott's (Roscoe, IL) 40 assists and a .364 hitting performance by freshman Amanda Kenny (Oak Lawn, IL).

The Dayton defense produced 50 digs on the night including 11 from freshman libero Adrienne Green (Palatine, IL).

Senior Shanna Pressler (Archbold, OH) had nine digs, five kills and four blocks in her final collegiate match.

The Flyers started off slow out of the gate, falling behind 0-6 until a Barhorst kill got UD on the board.

Dayton was behind by scores of 3-15 and 15-25 before a feed by Schott to Robynne Green for a kill sparked a 9-3 Flyer run to make it a 24-28 game. However, UD's comeback was stifled by kills from OSU's Maya Mapp and Amanda Miller to close out the opening game 30-25 in favor of the Buckeyes.

The Flyers carried the momentum it built in the first game into game two as they broke out to a 5-2 advantage off a kill by Utnage. Ohio State would work its way back into the game and knot the score at 7-all off a kill by Stacey Gordon.

Game two would be tight from then on as the teams exchanged 15 tied scores and five lead changes.

UD would have a chance to take control of the second game leading 27-25 coming out of an OSU timeout, but Gordon struck for three straight kills to put the Buckeyes ahead 28-27.

Pressler countered for the Flyers to knot the score at 28-all. After the teams traded points to put the score at 29-29, Barhorst punched a kill through the middle of the Buckeye blocks to give Dayton game point at 30-29. However, a pair of UD errors followed by a kill from OSU's Ami Stevens gave the homestanding Buckeyes the second game by a count of 32-30.

Ohio State controlled the action in the third game, out hitting the visiting Flyers .486 to .250 to close out the match with a 30-22 victory. Big Ten Player of the Year and National Player of the Year candidate Stacey Gordon had eight kills of her match-high 21 kills in the third game for Ohio State.

The Flyers were attempting to upset a Big Ten opponent on its home floor for the second-straight year. Last season, the Flyers knocked off Michigan State before falling to No. 9 Nebraska in the Second Round.

Dayton Quotes
Tim Horsmon, Dayton head coach
On the game
"Tonight was a tremendous game. We played a great team and played in front of a great crowd. I told my players after the game that they played tremendously and gave everything they could. I am very proud of the things they did tonight even though the outcome wasn't what we wanted."

On the second game
"We just didn't execute well at the end of the game. We played hard and had them on the ropes but couldn't seal the deal. I think we got a little too excited at the end of that second game at made some costly mistakes."

Faye Barhorst, Dayton sophomore middle blocker
On the game
"We played a great opponent who showed why they should be a Top 5 seed. Tonight proved how important it is to convert the little things. I thought we were just overwhelmed by playing in the NCAA tournament and in front of a large crowd. We did however, gain a lot of experience from this game."

Robynne Green, Dayton freshman middle blocker
On experience gained from the game
"The experience gained from tonight is unbelievable. For all of us it was our first time in a game like this. Tonight made us hungary to get back on the court as soon as possible to prepare for next year. We know what it is like to be on the next level and we want to go back and win,"

Dayton Postgame Notes