Nov. 23, 2004

PITTSBURGH - The Atlantic 10 Conference's two Regular Season Champions will square off for the A-10's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament Saturday at the A.J. Palumbo Center at 7:30 p.m. The match can be followed live with Gametracker.

UD (22-7) and XU (19-9) shared the A-10 Regular Season Title this year with identical 12-2 conference marks. Dayton swept the regular season series between the two schools, winning in Cincinnati, 3-0, on Sep. 29 and in Dayton, 3-1, on Oct. 21. The Flyers lead the overall series between the two schools 33-21, but Saturday will mark the first ever meeting in the A-10 Championship Match.

Dayton enters the Championship Match having won 11 of its last 12, including a 3-0 sweep of Duquesne in the A-10 Semifinals on Friday. UD, which has already clinched its fourth straight 20-win season, is making its third appearance in the A-10 Championship Match since joining the Conference in 1995. The Flyers are 1-1 all-time in the A-10 Finals as they fell to Rhode Island in 1996 (1-3) and defeated Temple last season (3-0).

Xavier will also be making its third trip to the A-10 Finals since appearing in back to back seasons. The Musketeers also split their previous two appearances as they lost to George Washington (2-3) in 2000 and beat Temple (3-0) in 2001.

Both schools will be looking to earn their second berth in the NCAA Tournament and will try to find an advantage in the following match ups.

COACHES

DAYTON HEAD COACH Tim Horsmon
UD Head Coach Tim Horsmon holds a 145-67 (.684) career record and is making his sixth appearance in a conference championship match in just his sixth season as a collegiate head coach. Horsmon holds a perfect 11-0 record in postseason conference tournament play and ranks among the Top 40 coaches nationally in winning percentage.

XAVIER HEAD COACH FLOYD DEATON
XU Head Coach Floyd Deaton has a 311-183 (.630) career record in 15 years as collegiate coach, all at Xavier. Deaton has been named A-10 Coach of the Year three times, including each of the past two seasons. He is the winningest coach in the program's history.

OUTSIDE HITTERS

DAYTON'S Christy Utnage
Senior Christy Utnage (Indianapolis, IN) garnered A-10 Player of the Year honors this season after ranking second in the A-10 in points scored, third in kills and sixth in service aces. She is one of only five players in UD history to record 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills in a career and ranks fifth and ninth respectively in those categories. Utnage has recorded 18 double-doubles this season, including a 17-kill, 10-dig performance against Duquesne in the A-10 Semis.

DAYTON'S Shanna Pressler
Senior Shanna Pressler (Archbold, OH) ranks third on the team in digs and blocks as well as fourth in kills and points scored. She has played at her best during her career when UD has needed her the most. Last season, she posted a career-high 20 kills in Dayton's NCAA First Round win over Michigan State. On Friday, she finished with 14 digs and five blocks against the Dukes in the A-10 Semifinals.

XAVIER'S KATE DUCHEK
Junior Kate Duchek earned All-Conference honors after ranking third in the A-10 in hitting percentage and fourth in kills and points scored. She has tallied double-digit kills in her last 11 matches including 15 kills in Friday's A-10 semifinal win over Temple.

XAVIER'S DANIELLE SKRAJEWSKI
Sophomore Danielle Skrajewski was also named to the All-Conference team this season and leads the conference in service aces. She has recorded a team-high 12 double-doubles this season and posted 13 kills and 12 digs against the Owls on Friday.

MIDDLE BLOCKERS

DAYTON'S Faye Barhorst
Sophomore Faye Barhorst (Fort Loramie, OH) was named to the All-Conference Team this season after being named the A-10 Rookie of the Year last season. She is the conference leader in hitting percentage, blocks and points scored while ranking second in kills. The four-time A-10 Player of the Week has recorded 10 kills or more in all but three matches this season and has tallied four or more blocks 21 times this year. She had 12 kills and five blocks against the Dukes on Friday.

DAYTON'S Robynne Green
Freshman Robynne Green (Palatine, IL) was named to the A-10 All-Rookie Team this season after ranking second on the Flyers roster in blocks and service aces as well third in kills and points scored. She has tallied double-digits in kills in each of her last two matches and five times overall this season. Green has also recorded 4.0 or more blocks nine times this year. She hit .526 with 10 kills and two blocks against Duquesne on Friday.

XAVIER'S ASTYN BJORKLUND
Sophomore Astyn Bjorklund earned All-Conference honors this season after being named to the All-Rookie squad in 2003. She has reached double-figures in kills 15 times this season and finished with six kills in the A-10 Semifinal.

XAVIER'S JILL QUAYLE
Freshman Jill Quayle garnered All-Rookie honors this year and ranks third in the A-10 in blocks. She has tallied 10 or more kills seven times and posted six kills and six blocks in Friday's win over Temple.

SETTERS

DAYTON'S Nicole Schott
Junior Nicole Schott (Roscoe, IL) leads the team and ranks fourth in the conference in assists. She is also fourth on the team in digs and fifth in blocks. Schott ranks third in school history in career assists and is one of just two players in school history to record multiple 1,000 assist seasons. She has posted 40 or more assists 15 times this season including a match-high 43 in the A-10 semifinal against the Dukes.

XAVIER'S MOLLY MARTIN
Senior Molly Martin was named A-10 Setter of the Year for the second time in her career this year to go along with her recognition as a freshman. She leads the A-10 in assists and posted 44 in XU's sweep of Temple on Friday.

LIBEROS

DAYTON'S Adrienne Green
Freshman Adrienne Green (Palatine, IL) ranks third in the A-10 and first on the team in digs. She has anchored a Flyer defense that ranks first in the conference in opponent's hitting percentage and digs in A-10 matches. Green has posted 20 double-digit dig matches. She tallied 23 digs and was part of a UD defense that held the Dukes to a .064 team hitting percentage in the A-10 Semifinals.

XAVIER'S JORDAN BRIGHTWELL
Junior Jordan Brightwell has led the Musketeers in digs all three years she has been on the roster. She has 19 double-digit dig matches this season including 17 against the Owls in Friday's semifinal.