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Five of the next six opponents for the 21st-ranked Flyers are receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25. Rachel Krabacher pictured. |
Location: Champaign, Ill.
Arena: Huff Hall
Tickets: Adults - $5, Youth -- $2
Coverage: Live Stats, video streaming on FightingIllini.com (All-Access)
Friday, Sept. 2: No. 21 Dayton vs. Houston, 5:30 p.m. ET
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Saturday, Sept. 3: Tennessee vs. No. 21 Dayton, 1 p.m. ET
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Saturday, Sept. 3: No. 21 Dayton at No. 7 Illinois, 8:30 p.m. ET
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Match Notes | Virtual Guide | Statistics | Facebook | @DaytonVB | Video
Dayton At A Glance
Dayton enters the weekend ranked 21st in the program’s 21st consecutive week in the AVCA Top 25 … Sophomore middle Megan Campbell and junior libero Paige Vargas were named Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively on Tuesday … Campbell averages 3.73 kills per set on a .400 clip, while Vargas averages a conference-best 5.64 digs per set and registered a career-high 35 digs last Saturday against Green Bay … Junior outside hitter Rachel Krabacher leads UD with 4.73 kills per set with 152 swings after just three matches … The Flyers have five freshman newcomers this season, middle Isolde Hannan is the only player who has started a match this season – starting all three … In his fourth season at Dayton, Head Coach Kelly Sheffield is approaching 100 wins at UD – currently with 182 … Dayton was picked to win its third consecutive A-10 Conference title in the preseason.
Scouting the Competition
All the teams in the State Farm Illini Classic enter the weekend with an undefeated 3-0 record after winning their respective season-opening tournaments last weekend … Dayton won the Green Bay/Country Inn & Suites Tournament, Illinois won the BYU Nike Invitational, Houston won its Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup and Tennessee won its Comcast Lady Vol Classic.
Houston (3-0, 0-0 Conference USA)
The Cougars were picked to finish third in the Conference USA during the preseason … UH is coming off a five-set exhibition loss against the Israeli National Team on Wednesday, but won their season-opening tournament in Houston last weekend … The Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup included Xavier, Lipscomb and Central Arkansas – all of whom finished in the top 70 of the NCAA RPI last season … Junior Stephanie Nwachukwu averaged double-digit kills in the three matches while being named the tournament MVP … Head Coach Molly Alvey is in her third season at Houston with a 46-20 record … Houston has seven newcomers (two transfers, five freshmen) … Senior middle Lucy Charuk and junior middle Chandace Tryon were both first team All-Conference USA selections last season.
rv Tennessee (3-0, 0-0 SEC)
Tennessee entered the season with a preseason ranking of 24 and, despite going 3-0 in their season-opening weekend, are now one spot out of the AVCA Top 25 … The Lady Vols feature four newcomers and return AVCA Third Team All-America performer Kayla Jeter from last season’s 25-7 team … In 2010, UT was the 11th-seed in the NCAA Championship but was upset by Indiana in the First Round … Ohio-native Rob Patrick is in his 14th season as head coach for the Lady Vols.
No. 7 Illinois (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
Illinois has finished each of the last two seasons ranked in the top 10 and return two AVCA All-America players in 2011 – senior outside hitters Colleen Ward (second team) and Michelle Bartsch (third team) … Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten in blocks per set, averaging 3.10 through three matches … The Illini are led by third-year head coach Kevin Hambly, who was an assistant at Illinois for five years before taking the reins … Illinois finished second in the Big Ten and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in both 2009 and 2010.
Turbulence Ahead
Dayton plays five teams which are currently ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 – all five matches are in the next two weeks ... The one team not receiving votes is Friday’s opponent, Houston, which enters the weekend 3-0.
Illin-I’ve Seen You Before
Illinois and Dayton has been a natural pairing on the volleyball court in recent years … The Flyers and the Illini hold an even 2-2 record dating back to 2008 … UD and UI met last season in the Nebraska/Ameritas Players Challenge when then-No. 3 Illinois defeated then-No. 20 Dayton in three sets … In 2009, the teams met in the Second Round of the NCAA Championship in Champaign with the Illini winning in four sets … Dayton has won a pair of five-set contests – in 2007 at the Dayton Flyer Classic and in 2008 at Tennessee … Illinois holds an overall series advantage, 5-3.
Starting Strong
Dayton began each of the last two seasons with winning streaks – 10 in 2009 and five in 2010 … In both years, Dayton went on to capture the Atlantic 10 Regular Season and Tournament crowns … The Flyers enter this weekend on a three-match winning streak.
All About the Rankings – No. 21
Dayton has been ranked for 21 consecutive weeks ... UD’s No. 19 position to begin the season is the highest preseason ranking in program history, after beginning 2010 at No. 21 ... Dayton's streak of 21 consecutive weeks in the top 25 began on Nov. 23, 2009, ranked 24th ... The Flyers’ highest position in the AVCA poll is No. 12, which came on the weeks of Oct. 15, 2007 and Nov. 22, 2010 ... The 2010 Dayton volleyball squad became the first team of any sport in Dayton history to be nationally ranked for the entire season after finishing with a No. 15 ranking in the final AVCA poll ... Dayton has finished in the top 25 three times – in 2007 (24th), 2009 (25th) and 2010 (15th).
Seven Lost, Five New
Dayton graduated perhaps one of the most fruitful Senior classes in program history last season, which included two All-Americans and four first-team all-conference players … Filling the void are five new freshmen and a group of hungry returners ready to take Dayton to the next level … Returning to the lineup are senior outside hitter Yvonne Marten, junior libero Paige Vargas and junior outside hitter Rachel Krabacher.
Marten ranked sixth in the A-10 in blocks per set (0.89) last season and this season looks to take on a role in the back-row left available by the graduation of First Team All-Conference outside hitter Amanda Cowdrey … Krabacher will again be the Flyers’ top option on the outside after totaling 965 swings last season, averaging 2.75 kills per set … Vargas has started for UD since her freshman season and is taking on an active leadership role as an upperclassman as she approaches 1,000 career digs.
Home-Opener Moved to UD Arena
Dayton’s home-opener on Friday, Sept. 9 against Pepperdine has been moved to UD Arena … The move was made to accommodate the 1,000-plus elementary school students participating in the “Spike Out Bullying” event on Friday morning … The match is followed by Florida State and Michigan during the Dayton Marriott Flyer Classic … Dayton will then return to the Frericks Center on Friday evening for a 7 p.m. ET match with Florida State … All four teams in the 2011 Dayton Flyer Classic (Sept. 9-10) received votes in the AVCA preseason poll.
Academic Excellence
For the fourth consecutive year in 2010-11 Dayton brought home the AVCA Team Academic Award, given to programs with a team GPA of 3.3 or higher … Dayton is one of three top 15 teams to be given the award this season with Cal and Stanford … Dayton and Fordham are the only two teams from the Atlantic 10 Conference to earn the award.
Packin’ the House
Dayton volleyball finished the 2010 season ranked 31st in national attendance, averaging 1,244 fans per home contest ... The highest crowd at the Frericks Center last season was 1,802 against Fordham on Oct. 2 ... The Flyers are coming off back-to-back undefeated home regular seasons.
Defense Wins Championships
Dayton was named College Volleyball Update’s national 2010 Defensive Team of the Year … UD held opponents to an NCAA defensive-best .127 hitting percentage while averaging 2.95 blocks per set and 17.25 digs per set – finishing in the top 10 for both of CVU’s blocking and digging awards … The Flyers led the Atlantic 10 in digs in 2010 and have led the conference in opponent hitting percentage and blocks the past two seasons … Three-time All-American Lindsay Fletemier and A-10 Student-Athlete of the Year Becky Novacek both averaged more than one block per set in 2010 … Libero Paige Vargas and First Team All-Conference performer Amanda Cowdrey became the only teammates in the A-10 to finish with 400 or more digs in each of the past two seasons.
2011 Honors
Preseason Atlantic 10 Championship favorites
Green Bay/Country Inn & Suites Tournament Champions
Megan Campbell – MVP; Rachel Krabacher, Yvonne Marten – All-Tournament
A-10 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive Player of the Week
Megan Campbell – Aug. 30
Campbell earned her first A-10 Player of the Week honor after being named MVP of the Green Bay/Country Inn & Suites Tournament. The Versailles, Ohio, native registered a career-high eight blocks in UD’s season opening, 3-1, triumph against North Dakota, before combining for 33 kills in the Flyers’ two matches on Saturday against James Madison and host Green Bay. Campbell had 16 kills on an astounding .789 hitting percentage in the three-set sweep of the Dukes and produced a career-best 17 kills, to go along with her six blocks in a 3-1 victory at Green Bay. She finished the weekend with 41 kills for a .400 hitting percentage, 16 total blocks and five digs.
Defensive Player of the Week
Paige Vargas – Aug. 30
Vargas earned her first A-10 Defensive Player of the Week honor after helping Dayton to a perfect 3-0 weekend with 62 digs and averaging 5.64 digs per set. The Naperville, Ill., native posted a career-high 35 digs in a four-set win against Green Bay on Saturday – the most by any Flyer since she recorded 31 against Xavier on Nov. 22, 2009. Vargas’ defensive passing and reception helped hold UD’s competitors to a .183 hitting percentage.
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