Oct. 1, 2008

Weekly Match Release

The University of Dayton Flyers will fly east for a pair of Atlantic 10 matches against the George Washington Colonials and the Charlotte 49ers. Dayton is coming off a 1-2 weekend at the UAlbany Invitational where UD swept LIU but then lost the next two to Yale and Albany.

Friday night's matchup will pit Dayton against GW. The Colonials are 6-6 this season and have collected a 1-1 conference record. GW is led on offense by outside hitter Liz Moult. Moult, a six-foot senior, averages 2.45 kills per set and has collected 13 blocks this season. Alyssa Valentine will be setting the ball for the George Washington. Valentine averages over eight assists per set and has notched 84 digs in 45 sets played. Senior libero Maggie Wright averages a team-high 3.98 digs per set and has earned eight service aces this season. Dayton holds a 17-9 record over the Colonials historically.

The Flyers will jet into Charlotte on Sunday looking to knock off the 49ers. UD is 2-1 historically over the 49ers who are led by Kathleen Hicks. In 64 sets played, Hicks averages 3.7 kills per set and is ranked second on the team with 19 service aces. Defensively, libero Kaitlin Knight leads the charge for Charlotte averaging 2.52 digs per set. The 49ers' setter, Courtney Cowles, averages a little over nine assists per set this season.

BATTLIN' BETHANY
To say Bethany Akerhielm had a big weekend at the Lady Vol Classic on Sept. 12-14 would be an understatement. Akerhielm notched a .354 hitting percentage with 30 kills, 11 digs and seven blocks. She was named tournament MVP for the second straight week as she took home honors in the Dayton Flyer Invitational the week before.

THE AKERHIELM ATTACK
Bethany Akerhielm had a standout performance during the Dayton Flyer Invitational on Sept. 5 and 6. Akerhielm was .385 from the floor with 2.29 kills per set, adding five digs and seven blocks to become the MVP of the Dayton Flyer Invitational. Akerhielm is ranked third in the Atlantic 10 with a .322 hitting percentage.

EXCEPTIONAL ERIN
On September 14, Erin Schroeder became just the second University of Dayton Flyer to surpass 1,000 digs and 1,000 assists in a career. She is the first Flyer to do this since Nicole Schott did in 2005. Schroeder was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on Sept. 15 for her accomplishments in the Lady Vol Classic.

ASSISTING THE ATTACK
Senior Erin Schroeder is off to a fiery start this season. She is ranked 61st, nationally, in assists per set, averaging 10.26. Schroeder's numbers rank her third in the Atlantic 10. In addition, Schroeder was named to the Dayton Flyer Invitational and ASU Sheraton Classic All-Tournament teams.

THE GARDEN CITY GRENADE
Redshirt sophomore Lindsay Fletemier hit .684 in the Flyers' win over UNLV. Fletemier is currently ranked sixth in the Atlantic 10 with a .330 hitting percentage this season. She is fifth in kills per set. Fletemier hit .565 in a 3-0 thrashing of the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks. Fletemier was named to the Dayton Flyer Invitational All-Tournament team after helping her team sweep the tournament. Against Long Island, Fletemier hit .533 with nine kills and three blocks.

`VAL'IENT AKERHIELM
Valerie Akerhielm was named Co-Rookie of the Week by the Atlantic 10 on Sept. 15 after she took home a berth on the All-Tournament team for the Lady Vol Classic. In the tournament, Akerhielm had 49 digs for the Flyers. In the Dayton Flyer Classic, Akerhielm tallied 39 digs, including 16 digs in a five set win over BIG EAST favorite Louisville. Akerhielm recorded 41 digs in the UAlbany Invitational including 18 in a three set sweep of Long Island University. In addition, Akerhielm ranks tenth among all A-10 student-athletes in digs per set averaging 3.23.

SISTER ACT
At the Lady Vol Classic, Bethany Akerhielm was named Tournament MVP for her ability to make big plays at key times. Akerhielm had 30 kills and a .354 hitting percentage in the tournament. Her sister, Valerie was also named to the All-Tournament team. Valerie put up 49 digs in the tournament including 29 digs in an upset over then No. 17 Illinois.

ANNA `EYTCHS' FIRST KILLS
Anna Eytchison tallied her first kills as a Flyer on September 12. In the 3-0 routing of Gardner-Webb, Eytchison added four kills, two digs and one assist. She recorded a season-high five kills against Yale on Sept. 26.

CAN YOU DIG IT?
Nicole Bateman ranks among the A-10's top defensive players. Bateman is sixth in the Atlantic 10 with 3.59 digs per set. Bateman recorded her 1,000th collegiate dig in a win over Northwestern on Sept. 5.

OK, NOW DIG THIS!
The Flyers are coming up with big digs as a team. Nicole Bateman had 35 digs in a four set win over the Towson Tigers. In addition, the Flyers rank 30th in the nation and first in the A-10 with 16.10 digs per set.

MANDY, MANDY
Mandy Robbe is having an outstanding senior year. Robbe is averaging 2.80 digs per set ranking her fourth among the entire team.

TIFFANY'S TYRANNY
Tiffany Gaerke has been a noticeable threat for the Flyers offense this season. Gaerke averages 2.30 kills per set this season. Against Long Island, Gaerke hit .417 after going 13-of-24 from the floor. Gaerke earned all-tournament honors at the UAlbany Invitational.

BACK ON THE ATTACK
In addition to being nationally ranked in digs per set, the Flyers are ranked 37th in the nation and first in the A-10 in kills per set with 13.67 per set. Nicole Bateman leads the team averaging 3.10 kills per set.

BUILDING BLOCKS
Lindsay Fletemier is third in the Atlantic 10 averaging 1.03 blocks per set. The Flyers are ranked third in the A-10 as a team, averaging 1.93 blocks per set.

SHEFFIELD NABS FIRST WIN
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield collected his first win as a Flyer on Aug. 29 after helping direct the team to a 3-1 win over the UNLV Rebels. The Flyers closed out the Rebels 23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 26-24 and finished 1-2 in the tournament.

SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS
The Flyers had an unprecedented year in 2007. After knocking off 17th ranked Purdue in three sets and going 32-1, the Flyers climbed as high as 12th In the AVCA Top 25 polls before losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Michigan State.

FLYING HIGH IN FRERICKS
The ferocious Frericks Center has been a challenge for visitors over the past five seasons as the Flyers hold a 56-12 (.823) record at home since 2004. The 5,000-seat venue is the third-largest volleyball only facility in the nation and with an average attendance of more than 1,000, the Frericks Center gives the Flyers a definite home court advantage.

TOURNAMENT TEAMS
Dayton has appeared in the NCAA Tournament four times since 2003. They have advanced to the second round twice in 2003 and 2007. Last season they played to a sold out crowd at Frericks Center as the Flyers hosted the First and Second Rounds.

SIZING UP THE COMPETITION
The Flyers will face a competitive schedule this season matching up against nine teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season while taking part in 15 home matches at Frericks Center.

The average record of this season's opponents in 2007 was 18-13 with nine different teams reaching the 20-win plateau. Cleveland State, Miami (Ohio), Long Island, Louisville, Ohio, UNLV and Xavier all took part in the NCAA First Round while Albany and Purdue each advanced to the NCAA Second Round. Five schools won their conference tournament while three others advanced to their respective championship match.

OLD MEETS NEW
The 2008 Dayton Flyers closed out the Alumnae in just three sets during a preseason tune-up on August 23. The Flyers were tested by a tough alumnae squad that was made up of three winners of the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year award, 2003 recipient Erin Treadway, 2004 honoree Christy Utnage as well as the 2005 and 2006 recipient Faye Barhorst. Jamie Lee-Richards a two-time honoree for A-10 First Team All-Conference, Carrie (Snider) Dearth the UD record holder for digs in a single-season and Adrienne Green the record holder for digs in a career were also among the present alumnae. Three-time A-10 Championship winner Margo Moeller and UD Assistant Athletics Director / Senior Woman Administrator Megan Pease capped off a tough alumnae squad.

VOLLEYBALL PICKED SECOND IN ATLANTIC 10
Defending Atlantic 10 Champion Dayton was selected to finish second in the Atlantic 10 West Division in the A-10 Preseason Coaches Poll. Voting was conducted among the conference's 10 member head coaches with each person not allowed to vote for his or her own team.

Saint Louis and Temple were slated to win the West and East Divisions respectively in 2008. Dayton followed the Billikens in second place while Xavier, which earned an at-large berth to the 2007 NCAA Tournament, was third followed by Rhode Island and Duquesne in the West Division.

COOKING WITH SHEFF
The University of Dayton welcomed Kelly Sheffield as the seventh head coach in Flyer volleyball history on March 25, 2008.

Sheffield, a native of Muncie, Ind., came to UD after seven seasons as the head coach at Albany. A two-time America East Conference Coach of the Year, Sheffield led the Great Danes to three trips to the NCAA Tournament including a berth in the second round this past season. Albany won back-to-back Conference Tournament Championships under Sheffield and three titles in his last four years. In addition, Albany volleyball won 20 matches or more in four out of five seasons.

SHEFFIELD THROWS OUT OPENING PITCH
The Dayton community rolled out the red carpet for new head coach Kelly Sheffield when the Dayton Dragons, a Class A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds featured Sheffield as the ceremonial first pitch on Aug. 17 at Fifth Third Field in downtown Dayton.

FLYERS TOPPING 20
UD has won at least 20 matches in each of the last seven seasons. The Flyers have also posted 13 consecutive winning seasons and have more wins in the last five seasons (110) than any other five-year period in its Division I history.

NEW ADDITIONS TO THE FLYER FAMILY
In addition to signing Kelly Sheffield to be the next head coach for UD, the Flyers also welcomed two new faces to the mix. Assistant coaches Matt Affolder and Kristin Fiorillo joined the Flyer family in April to complete the coaching staff for the season.

Affolder made his way to UD after stops in Indiana, Southern Illinois and Indiana State before calling himself a Flyer. During his time at IU, Affolder worked as a recruiting coordinator and coach of the outside hitters with the Hoosiers.

Fiorillo, one of Sheffield's former student-athletes, joined the staff after a year-long stint with Division III SUNY New Paltz. Fiorillo was the top assistant for SUNY New Paltz and helped guide them to a 27-12 overall record and an 8-2 mark in SUNYAC play. The squad advanced to the semifinals of their conference tournament on the strength of the SUNYAC East Division Player of the Year, one First Team selection and two Second Team picks.

GETTING PROPS
For their efforts in a historic 2007 season, senior Erin Schroeder and redshirt sophomore Lindsay Fletemier received conference and national honors. Fletemier earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honors for her outstanding play. Fletemier had a conference hitting percentage of .346 and was second on the team in kills per set with 2.86. In addition, Fletemier earned six A-10 Rookie of the Week awards.

Erin Schroeder and alumna Jamie-Lee Richards earned Honorable Mention All-America by the AVCA. Dayton tallied kills on 42.1 percent of the balls set by Schroeder who averaged 12.01 assists per game in 2007. She was also second on the team with 2.84 digs per game and is more than 80 percent of the way to becoming just the second player in program history to record both 1,000 career assists and 1,000 career digs. Schroeder was Second Team All-Conference selection this season while also being named to the All-Championship Team.