INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Dayton Arena has been selected as a regional host for the 2010 Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship. Dayton joins the National Champion Penn State Nittany Lions, the national runner-up Texas and Washington as regional hosts.
“We are very excited that the University of Dayton Arena will be a regional host site for next year’s NCAA volleyball championship,” said University of Dayton Vice President and Director of Athletics Tim Wabler. “The Arena's hosting history with other NCAA events certainly played a big part in the volleyball regional coming to Dayton, but I think the deciding factor was the performance of our volleyball program and the excitement it has generated in the Dayton community."
Dayton will host the regionals in its premier venue, the UD Arena. The Flyers typically host their home matches in the Frericks Center on the University of Dayton campus.
"This is awesome news. Dayton is a great volleyball city whose tradition goes back to before when the national team had its training facility here. The high school and club programs in the region are some of the best in the country and this event will be great for the young players in the area to see some of the best teams in the country playing right here in Dayton,” said head volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield.
The Flyers have won five Atlantic 10 Championships and advanced to NCAA Tournament in six of their last seven seasons. Dayton broke its home attendance record at the Frericks Center earlier this season with 2,072 in attendance for the Sept. 25 match against Xavier.
“The University's commitment to volleyball gave our program the opportunity to become a nationally-recognized program, and Kelly (Sheffield) and his team have earned that level of recognition. We're all very pleased about this news. It's great to have another NCAA championship event in Dayton at UD Arena," said Wabler.
In two of the last three years UD has hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship. In addition, the Flyers hosted the 2009 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Championships, the finals was their first nationally-televised broadcast.
“I couldn't be happier for the great coaches and players that have helped get this program to the level that it as today, and to also be a part of an athletic department and university that wants to host these types of events. I can tell you this, as a university and city, we are going to have people involved that are going to make this an absolute first class event,” said Sheffield.
UD Arena is one of the nation’s most prolific NCAA tournament venues. In the next 15 months, five NCAA events will be held at the Arena – the 2010 Men’s Basketball Opening Round, 2010 Women’s Basketball Regional, 2010 Women’s Volleyball Regional, 2011 Men’s Basketball Opening Round and 2011 Women’s Basketball Regional.
The Flyers return all of their starters, including All-American middle blocker Lindsay Fletemier, back to a team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season. The Flyers completed their second 30-plus win season since joining the Division I ranks, and earned their fifth Atlantic 10 championship. They also finished the season ranked 25th by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
“With all of our players returning from the team that won the A-10 Championship and then getting to host the regional, we would like the community to further embrace this nationally recognized program,” said Wabler.
