Dayton Flyers

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DAYTON, Ohio – Six seniors and two All-Americans. That is what Dayton volleyball graduated after a historic 2010 season. With four new starters, including a new setter, some projected a rebuilding campaign in 2011.

But the Flyers picked up where they left off by winning the program’s ninth Atlantic 10 regular season title, seventh Atlantic 10 Championship title while earning a fifth consecutive bid to the NCAA tournament. On the way, three Dayton players earned All-America status for the first time and a total of six players were on All-Conference teams including the A-10 Player of the Year, A-10 Setter of the Year and A-10 Coach of the Year.

So much for rebuilding. In 2011, Dayton volleyball showed why it’s more than one team – it is a program which consistently strives for excellence and attains success.

Three-Peat Champions
Dayton captured its third consecutive Atlantic 10 Championship title (seventh overall) by sweeping Duquense in the semifinals and defeating second-seeded Xavier in four sets in the final. 2011 was also UD’s third consecutive regular season crown after finishing 14-1 in league play. Senior Yvonne Marten was the A-10 Championship’s Most Outstanding Player. Marten joined junior Rachel Krabacher, junior Samantha Selsky and sophomore Megan Campbell on the All-Championship Team.

All-Americans
Three Flyers were named AVCA All-America this season – the most to be named in one season for UD. Sophomore middle blocker Megan Campbell was listed on the third team, while junior outside hitter Rachel Krabacher and junior setter Samantha Selsky were classified as honorable mentions. Campbell finished the season one of two players in the nation to rank in the top 15 in hitting percentage and blocks per set. Her .412 hitting percentage is the second-highest in program history during a single-season. Krabacher led the conference in kills per set and points per set all season en route to earning 2011 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year honors. Nationally, the Cincinnati native ranks 16th in kills per set and 20th in points per set. With a career-high 500 kills this season, she became the first Flyer since 2005 to record 500 or more total kills in one season. Selsky guided the Flyer offense to set a program-record .280 hitting percentage and was named 2011 Atlantic 10 Setter of the Year. Selsky led the A-10 in assists per set and was named to the A-10 All-Conference First Team and All-Championship Team. The Manhattan Beach, Calif., native was the first Division I player to record a triple-double this season with 10 kills, 13 digs and 44 assists at No. 7 Illinois.

Flyers Make Up Majority of All-Conference Teams
For the second consecutive season Dayton took home the Atlantic 10 Conference’s Coach, Player and Setter of the Year awards. A program-record six Flyers were named to All-Conference teams as UD also made up three of the seven Academic All-Conference selections. Junior outside hitter Rachel Krabacher was named A-10 Player of the Year, junior setter Samantha Selsky the A-10 Setter of the Year and Head Coach Kelly Sheffield the A-10 Coach of the Year. Sophomore middle blocker Megan Campbell joined Krabacher and Selsky as First Team All-Conference selections. Senior outside hitter Yvonne Marten and junior libero Paige Vargas were Second Team selections. Freshman middle Isolde Hannan was listed on the All-Rookie Team. Campbell, Marten and Krabacher were listed among seven players in the A-10 to be named Academic All-Conference. The total of six players honored from Dayton – none of which were on last season’s First, Second, Honorable Mention or Rookie Teams – is the most in program history.
 
Sheffield Reaches Wins Milestone
Fourth-year head coach Kelly Sheffield won his 100th match at UD on Nov. 11 at La Salle. Sheffield became the fastest coach to reach 100 wins at Dayton, needing just 127 matches. He is also the first coach in Dayton history to reach 100 wins in less than four seasons. Sheffield averaged 26 wins per season in his first four seasons at UD. Last season Sheffield won his 200th career match at the Notre Dame Invitational against Santa Clara on Sept. 17, 2010. Sheffield spent seven years building the program at Albany, compiling 142 wins and three NCAA Tournament appearances.

Vargas Second In Career Digs
Junior libero Paige Vargas ended the season ranked second in career digs at Dayton with 1,461 after three seasons as the starting libero. She passed pass Cindy Moffitt (1987-90) during the NCAA tournament first round match against Kentucky on Dec. 1. Vargas became the 11th Flyer in program history to reach 1,000 digs after recording 16 digs against Houston on Sept. 2. The Naperville, Ill., native recorded a career-high 35 digs this season at Green Bay (8/27) – the most since she recorded 31 against Xavier on Nov. 22, 2009. Dayton’s career digs record is held by Adrienne Green (2004-07) with 2,070.

Krabacher Closing In On 1,000 Kills
Junior outside hitter Rachel Krabacher – the 2011 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year – ended the season five kills away from 1,000. The Cincinnati native would become the 20th Flyer to reach the 1,000-career kill mark at Dayton. Her career-high 500 kills this season is the seventh most in a single-season by a Dayton player. Krabacher led the A-10 in kills per set and points per set this season.

Campbell Re-Writing Records
Sophomore Megan Campbell ranks second in single-season block-assists at Dayton with 150. Just last season, Lindsay Fletemier set the block-assists record with 155. Campbell is also second in single-season hitting percentage at Dayton (.412), behind Faye Barhorst (.431) from 2006. Campbell finished with the fourth-best hitting percentage in the nation. In her second season with the Flyers, the Versailles, Ohio native has a .382 career hitting percentage mark – a program-high.

Aces Abound
Sophomore defensive specialist Allyson Morey led the A-10 in aces per set with 0.38. Morey’s 42 total aces are the most aces in a single season at UD since Jamie-Lee Richards recorded 65 in 2007. As a team, Dayton recorded a season-high 10 service aces without recording a single service error at George Washington on Oct. 7 – it was the first known match in program history in which UD has recorded no service errors.

Dominant 15-Match Winning Streak
Dayton held a 15-match winning streak during the 2011 season. During the win streak, the Flyers had a 45-2 set record and held its opponents to under 20 points in all but five of those 47 sets. UD also had a .351-to-.074 advantage over their opponents in hitting percentage. Dating back to 2009, Dayton also a 29-match regular season winning streak (36 overall) against A-10 opponents this season.

Selsky Slams A Triple-Double
Junior setter Samantha Selsky recorded the first triple-double of the season in all of Division I volleyball. Selsky went for 10 kills, 13 digs and 44 assists in five sets against Illinois on Sept. 3.

Nationally Ranked
Dayton received 28 votes in the final AVCA Top-25 Poll of the season to mark the 46th consecutive poll that the Flyers have received votes. The Flyers began the season ranked 19th in the preseason poll and ended as the 29th-highest ranked team in the land.

Tough Schedule
The Flyers played two teams which advanced to the Final Four (No. 2 Illinois and No. 7 Florida State), three top 10 teams (plus No. 6 Pepperdine) and six top 25 teams (plus No. 13 Kentucky, No. 19 Tennessee and T-No. 20 Michigan).

Academic Excellence
On top of all the on-court achievements, Dayton has been just as impressive in the classroom. In July the team was given the AVCA Team Award for the fourth consecutive season with a team GPA of 3.30 or higher. Dayton had the most players on the A-10 Academic All-Conference Team as Marten, Campbell and Krabacher were selections. Marten and Krabacher also were named Capital One Academic All-District V.

Memorable Moments 
Early Adversity at Green Bay
After remaining in Dayton all summer to train and prepare for the upcoming season, the Flyers opened the season with a championship at the Country Inn & Suites Invitational in Green Bay, Wis. But winning its first championship of the season didn’t come without a dose of adversity. Down 17-22 in the fourth set against host Green Bay, lone senior Yvonne Marten exited the match with an injury. But Dayton responded with an 8-1 run to win the set (25-23) and the match (3-1). Megan Campbell was the MVP of the invite and Rachel Krabacher recorded a double-double in all three matches at Green Bay.

Taking Illinois to the Brink
Dayton won the first two sets on the home court of eventual national runner-up Illinois during the Illini Classic on Sept. 3. Krabacher recorded an Illini Classic-record of 77 attack attempts and finished with a match-high 28 kills and Samantha Selsky registered a triple-double. Both were named to the All-Tournament team as UD finished as runners-up in the Illini Classic.

100 Percent Side-out Against La Salle
Some records aren’t kept because the likelihood of it happening is so rare. Dayton made program and national history by issuing a perfect side-out percentage against La Salle – never allowing the Explorers to serve more than once at a time. La Salle served 28 times during the match and each serve resulted in a Dayton point. Officials at the NCAA office do not own a historic record for side-out percentages, but no other team in Dayton or NCAA history is known to have achieved that mark.

Xavier, Xavier, Xavier
For the second consecutive season rivals Dayton and Xavier met three times as the Flyers took the season series, 2-1, including the Atlantic 10 Championship title. Dayton dispatched the Musketeers at home in four sets on Oct. 14 behind 25 kills from Krabacher and 46 assists from Selsky. Despite a career-high 20 kills from Marten, Xavier won a five-set comeback in Cincinnati to end Dayton’s 36-match winning streak against Atlantic 10 opponents. When it mattered most, the Flyers punched a ticket to the NCAA tournament by defeating Xavier four sets to win the A-10 Championship title for the third consecutive season (and the second consecutive season by defeating Xavier in the title match). Dayton leads the all-time series against Xavier, 47-25, including a perfect 5-0 in A-10 Championship play.

NCAA Tournament
Dayton made a fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament in early December, facing Kentucky in College Station, Texas. UK head coach Craig Skinner and Sheffield were friends dating back to their days growing up in Muncie, Ind. The Flyers played to their potential as an elite team, forcing No. 16 Kentucky to match-point twice in the fifth set. But the Wildcats clawed back to edge UD 16-14 in the deciding set.

Looking Ahead to 2012
Flyers return 11-of-12 players and all but one starter, as UD’s lone senior, Marten, is on pace to graduate in May and enter dental school. To date, Coach Sheffield has signed two players for 2012 – middle hitter Jill Loiars and outside hitter Alaina Turner.