Sep. 4, 2004

DAYTON, Ohio - The UD volleyball team won its first match Saturday at the Dayton Flyer Invitational at the Frericks Center, 3-1 (30-22, 30-26, 28-30, 30-25) over Tennessee Tech. Christy Utnage (Indianapolis, IN) led UD in kills with 20 and digs with 17, while Faye Barhorst (Ft. Loramie, OH) added 16 kills and five blocks.

The first game saw UD nurse a slight edge before Tennesse Tech tied the match at 13-13, after the two teams traded points, UD scored two straight points to take a 17-15 advantage. Tech rallied to tie the game at 20-20 before the Flyers closed out the game with a 10-2 run.

The Flyers staked a 13-6 lead in game two after a service ace from Barhorst prompting a timeout by Tennessee Tech. Dayton maintained a seven-point lead before a block from Barhorst and Nicole Schott (Roscoe, IL) put UD up 10, 21-11. But the Eagles went on a 7-1 run to pull within four. Tech pulled within one before Jamie-Lee Richards (Virginia Beach, VA) put UD back up two at 25-23 before the Flyers pulled away for the 30-26 win.

In the third game, the Flyers snuck out ahead before Tech tied it at 7-7. The two teams traded seven ties and six lead changes before Tennessee Tech opened at 18-15 lead. But Dayton rallied to tie at 19 all. The Flyers and Eagles traded points to 24-24. Back-to-back kills by Barhorst gave UD at 26-24 lead, but Tech rallied to tie it at 28-28 and take game three 30-28.

Dayton took a 12-6 lead to open game four and stretched it to 15-8. Tech chipped away and used a 6-0 run to tie the game at 18-18. But the Flyers scored the next five points forcing Tech to regroup with a timeout, down 23-18. Tennessee Tech pulled back to within one at 25-24, but a Schott flip shot gave UD two-point edge and Utnage followed with back-to-back kills as the Flyers put it away 30-25.

The Flyers (2-1) will meet West Virginia in the night cap at 7:30 p.m. following Coastal Carolina and Tennessee Tech at 5:00 p.m.