Dayton Flyers

Season Opens At Home Against National Runner-Up Illinois

2012 Schedule (PDF) | 2012 Flyer Classic

DAYTON, Ohio – University of Dayton volleyball released its 2012 schedule on Monday which features a non-conference slate of 10 NCAA tournament teams, five AVCA Top 25 teams and 11 top 50 RPI teams from 2011.

The Flyers will play 16 matches against teams that won at least 20 matches last season. Dayton’s 14 non-conference opponents have a combined winning percentage of .669 in 2011. Of UD’s 10 opponents that went to the NCAA tournament last season, five advanced to the round of 16.

“I think competitors want to be challenged, and there's no question that we are going to be challenged this season,” UD Head Coach Kelly Sheffield said. “Right out of the gates we are hosting one of the premier tournaments in the country.”

The annual Flyer Classic opens on Friday, Aug. 24, with Dayton taking on reigning national runner-up Illinois (35-2). It will be the seventh consecutive season in which the Flyers and Fighting Illini have met. Dayton continues Flyer Classic play against Pepperdine (25-7) on Aug. 25. The Waves, who will be playing in their second consecutive Flyer Classic, advanced to the round of eight in last season’s NCAA tournament. The Classic concludes with a Sunday match against 2011 Mid-American Conference East Division champion Ohio (23-10) on Aug. 26.

Admission to the Flyer Classic, and all of Dayton’s regular season matches at the Frericks Center, are free.

“We have seven teams coming to Frericks this year that won at least 19 matches last season, so Flyer fans should be treated to some great competition here at home,” Sheffield said.

Dayton’s first road trip of the season will be at the Dr. Mark Jo Wynn Invitational hosted by Missouri State (22-9) in Springfield, Mo., on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. Austin Peay (25-7) and Oral Roberts (20-10) round out the four-team field coming off 20-win seasons a year ago. 

The Flyers then travel to Bowling Green, Ky., as Western Kentucky (31-4) hosts Dayton, Ohio State (21-15) and Tennessee Tech (5-25) in the WKU Tournament on Sept. 7 and 8. Ohio State advanced to the round of 16 for the second consecutive season in 2011. WKU is coming off back-to-back appearances in the NCAA tourney.

The Flyers’ non-conference tournament slate concludes with another high-profile field in the Hurricane Invitational, hosted by back-to-back Conference-USA regular season champion Tulsa (28-7). NCAA Regional Semifinalists Minnesota (20-12) and Kansas State (22-11) are also included in the mix. Minnesota finished the season ranked 15th and K-State was 22nd in the final AVCA poll.

The Atlantic 10 Conference reduced league play by one match after playing 15 matches the past three seasons. The reduced 14-match season begins Sept. 21 in Cincinnati against rival Xavier (21-11).

“Almost the entire all-conference first team returns, and over half of the second team and honorable mention teams return, showing that the A-10 will have a lot of talent back for 2012,” Sheffield said. “If people can stay healthy, with the talent returning and coming in, this could be a three-bid league this year.”

The first home conference matches of the season are on Sept. 28 against Duquesne (19-13) and George Washington (20-10) on Sept. 29. The home dates will break a four-week road swing for the Flyers.

Dayton’s longest homestand of the season, spanning six matches, will be from Oct. 19 through Nov. 3. The three consecutive conference home weekends open with a rematch against Xavier at Frericks and also includes matches against Fordham (7-23) and Rhode Island (15-15).

On Wednesday, Oct. 31, Dayton hosts Cincinnati (27-10) for the first time since defeating the Bearcats at Frericks in 2009. Cincinnati won the 2011 BIG EAST tournament title last season and have made four consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament.

In the last regular season home matches of the season Dayton will honor a trio of seniors – Rachel Krabacher, Paige Vargas and Samantha Selsky – for Senior Day weekend. UD will host Temple (8-20) on Friday, Nov. 2 and La Salle (6-27) on Saturday, Nov. 3. 

The A-10 Championship will be hosted by Duquesne from Nov. 16-18. Dayton has won the A-10 Championship title in seven of the last nine years, including three consecutive under Sheffield.

In the last week of the regular season, Dayton visits Western Michigan (24-9) in Kalamazoo, Mich., during Thanksgiving week. The last time the programs met UD swept the Broncos in 2010 at the Ameritas Players Challenge, hosted by Nebraska.

The NCAA Championship’s 64-team field will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 25 on a member of ESPN’s family of networks.

The Flyers finished the 2011 season with a 25-7 record, captured the program’s ninth A-10 regular season title, seventh A-10 Championship title and made a fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championship. Sheffield was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season, while the Flyers featured a program-best three AVCA All-Americans (Megan Campbell, Krabacher and Selsky) – all of whom return next Fall.

2012 Dayton Volleyball Schedule Breakdown (RPI Top 100 teams)

Team	2011 Record	Conference - Finish * - tournament champs	NCAA Tournament	2011 RPI (NCAA)	2011 Ranking (AVCA)
DAYTON	25-7	ATLANTIC 10 - 1ST*	FIRST ROUND	34	RV
Cincinnati	27-10	BIG EAST - 2nd *	Second Round	20	RV
Illinois	32-5	Big Ten - 2nd	National Runner-up	1	2
Kansas State	22-11	Big 12 - 4th	Regional Semifinals	24	22
Minnesota	20-12	Big Ten - 5th	Regional Semifinals	12	15
Missouri State	22-9	Missouri Valley - 2nd	First Round	45	-
Ohio	23-10	MAC - 1st (East)	-	50	-
Ohio State	21-15	Big Ten - 7th	Regional Semifinals	40	23
Pepperdine	25-7	WCC - 1st	Regional Final	15	6
Saint Louis	15-13	Atlantic 10 - 3rd	-	82	-
Tulsa	28-7	C-USA - 1st	Second Round	25	RV
Western Kentucky	31-4	Sun Belt - 1st (East) *	First Round	23	RV
Western Michigan	24-9	MAC - 3rd (West)	First Round	39	-
Xavier	21-11	Atlantic 10 - 2nd	-	72	-

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