Match Notes
Blue and White Classic
Location: Buffalo, N.Y.
Arena: Alumni Arena
Tickets: $5 adults; $3 children
Coverage: Live stats,
Dayton Flyer Sports Network (audio streaming - Shane White: play-by-play)
Friday
4:30 p.m. - Dayton vs. Cornell
7 p.m. - Syracuse vs. Buffalo
Saturday
10 a.m. - Cornell vs. Buffalo
12:30 p.m. - Syracuse vs. Dayton
5 p.m. - Cornell vs. Syracuse
7:30 p.m. - Dayton vs. Buffalo
Dayton At A Glance
The Flyers head to Buffalo, N.Y., to face three teams from the state of New York – Cornell, Buffalo and Syracuse – at the Blue and White Classic … Dayton enters the weekend in unchartered territory, of late, after slipping into a five-match losing streak – the longest during a season since 1999 … All five losses were against teams receiving votes or ranked in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll … UD received 19 votes in the most recent AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll this week – the 35th consecutive week UD has been receiving votes … It is the first time in 22 weeks the Flyers are out of the top 25 – the longest period any UD team has been nationally-ranked … Sophomore middle Megan Campbell leads the A-10 in hitting percentage (.368) and blocks per set (1.22) … Junior outside hitter Rachel Krabacher leads the A-10 in kills per set (4.58) and points per set (5.03) … In the preseason, the Flyers were picked to win their third consecutive Atlantic 10 title … Head Coach Kelly Sheffield – the 2010 AVCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year – has an 83-26 record at UD.
Cornell (2-5, 0-0 Ivy League)
Series: First Meeting
The Big Red enter the weekend with a 2-5 record, fresh off a sweep of North Carolina A&T at the VCU/Third Degree Sportswear Invitational … While in Richmond, Va., last weekend Cornell lost to A-10 member George Washington in straight sets … Sarah Bernson is in her third season of leading the Big Red on the sidelines with a 12-44 record (the official title of Bernson is the ‘Wendy Schaenen '79 Head Coach of Volleyball’) … Cornell’s roster of 17 players is led by Rachel D’Epagnier’s 2.56 kills per set and .378 hitting percentage … Kelly Marble ranks 17th in the nation in aces per set with 0.58 … Cornell is 1-1 in neutral matches this season … Cornell’s final 2010 NCAA RPI was 280 after finishing 4-20 and 2-12 in the Ivy League.
Syracuse (8-2, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Series: First Meeting
Syracuse ranks first in the nation in blocks per set after the NCAA statistics report was released for the first time this week … The Orange is averaging 3.34 blocks per set … 6-foot-1 middle Sam Hinz (this week’s BIG EAST Player of the Week) totals the second-most blocks in the nation with 64 … The Orange won the Blackbird Invitational last weekend against Long Island, Temple and Lehigh … SU features 11 foreign players (China – 2; Canada – 8; Puerto Rico – 1) and just two players from New York … Noemie Lefebvre leads SU with 3.30 kills per set … Two-time BIG EAST Coach of the Year Jing Pu is in his 17th season at Syracuse with a 326-207 record … Syracuse’s final 2010 NCAA RPI was 112 after finishing 23-9 and 5-9 in the BIG EAST.
Buffalo (5-5, 0-0 MAC)
Series: Dayton leads, 1-0
Buffalo is coming off a mid-week victory over Niagara on Tuesday at home, 3-1 … The Bulls lead the MAC in aces per set with 1.74 … Sophomore outside hitter Dana Musil leads the team in kills per set (2.83) … The Bulls feature six freshmen on a roster of 14 … Head Coach Todd Kress (in his third season at Buffalo) is a native of Sidney, Ohio – just 40 miles north of Dayton … Buffalo’s final 2010 NCAA RPI was 193 after finishing 18-16 and 5-11 in the MAC … Buffalo’s official institution name is State University of New York at Buffalo … Dayton won the first and only meeting with the Bulls, 3-1, on Sept. 9, 1991.
Last Weekend
Dayton lost three matches in the Dayton Marriott Flyer Classic to teams receiving votes in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll – Pepperdine, Florida State and Michigan … Junior libero Paige Vargas was named to the Flyer Classic All-Tournament team … During the Flyers’ home-opening weekend the average attendance was 1,366 … UD recorded a season-high 15 team blocks in a five-set bout with Pepperdine … Middle Megan Campbell recorded career-highs of eight block assists in two matches last weekend … Middle Shayne Brown recorded a career-high eight kills against Florida State.
Vargas at 1,000 Digs
Junior libero Paige Vargas became the 11th Flyer in program history to pass the 1,000-dig mark after recording 16 digs against Houston on Sept. 2 … Vargas enters the weekend with 1,110 digs, which ranks ninth in program history behind Nicole Schott (2002-05 – 1,121) … Vargas recorded 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 Putting Up BIG Numbers
Junior outside hitter Rachel Krabacher leads the Atlantic 10 in kills per set (4.58) and points (5.03) … The Cincinnati native became the first Dayton player in six years to record over 25 kills in a match – registering 28 in five sets at Illinois … Krabacher has 15 or more kills in seven of Dayton’s nine matches this season and has six double-doubles … Krabacher has two matches with over 70 total attempts – both are conference highs … Three-time AVCA All-American Faye Barhorst was the last Flyer to record over 25 kills with 26 against Xavier on Oct. 27, 2005.
Slamma-Jamma Selsky
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 … In her first season as Dayton’s starting setter, the California native is averaging 10.03 assists per set and enters the weekend with six double-doubles … Selsky set a career-high of 22 digs against Tennessee on Sept. 3.
Hammer Campbell
Sophomore middle Megan Campbell leads the Atlantic 10 in hitting percentage (.368) and blocks per set (1.22) … Through just nine matches this season, Campbell has totaled 44.0 blocks … Against James Madison (8/27) Campbell went for an astounding 16 kills on a .789 hitting percentage in three sets … The next match against Green Bay, Campbell went for a career-high 17 kills with six blocks, on her way to earning MVP honors in the Green Bay/Country Inn & Suites Tournament … Her career-high of eight blocks in a match has occurred three times this season.
High School Connections: Blue and White Classic
Dayton freshman Isolde Hannan and Syracuse freshman Julia Mindlina graduated in the same class at Dublin Coffman High School in Dublin, Ohio … The pair helped guide Dublin Coffman to a 26-2 record and a berth in the 2010 OHSAA Division I State Championship semifinals last season … Mindlina has played in 10 matches for the Orange this season with 50 digs … Hannan has started all nine matches for UD and has 21 kills on the season.
Sophomore Allyson Morey played with Buffalo’s freshman middle Chelsea Toth at the tradition-rich Burris Laboratory School (Muncie Burris) and Munciana Volleyball Club in Muncie, Ind. … Muncie Burris has won 14 consecutive Indiana 2A State titles … UD’s Megan Campbell also played for Munciana.
Sheffield Approaching 100th Win at Dayton
Fourth-year Head Coach Kelly Sheffield is already approaching his 100th win at Dayton – needing 17 … Sheffield is averaging 26 wins per season after his first three seasons at UD … Sheffield is already the quickest head coach in program history to reach 50 wins in the modern scheduling format, going 51-17 in his first two seasons ... 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.
Home-Opener at UD Arena
Dayton’s home-opener against Pepperdine was moved to UD Arena to accommodate the 1,000-plus elementary school students participating in the “Spike Out Bullying” event on Friday morning … The Flyers lost the home-opener to Pepperdine in five sets … It was the first home-opener loss since 2005, when Virginia defeated Dayton in five sets on Sept. 9, 2005 – also during the Dayton Marriott Flyer Classic.
Packin’ the House
Dayton volleyball finished the 2010 season ranked 31st in national attendance, averaging 1,244 fans per home contest ... The highest crowd at the Frericks Center last season was 1,802 against Fordham on Oct. 2 ... The Flyers were coming off back-to-back undefeated home regular seasons in 2009 and 2010.
All About the Rankings – RV
Dayton continued its steady rank in the polls after receiving votes in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll for the 35th consecutive week … It is the first time in 22 consecutive weeks the Flyers are out of the top 25 … UD’s No. 19 position to begin the season was the highest preseason ranking in program history, after beginning 2010 at No. 21 ... Dayton's streak of 22 consecutive weeks in the top 25 began on Nov. 23, 2009, ranked 24th ... The Flyers’ highest position in the AVCA poll is No. 12, which came on the weeks of Oct. 15, 2007 and Nov. 22, 2010 ... The 2010 Dayton volleyball squad became the first team of any sport in Dayton history to be nationally ranked for the entire season after finishing with a No. 15 ranking in the final AVCA poll ... Dayton has finished the season in the top 25 three times – in 2007 (24th), 2009 (25th) and 2010 (15th).
Academic Excellence
For the fourth consecutive year in 2010-11 Dayton brought home the AVCA Team Academic Award, given to programs with a team GPA of 3.3 or higher … Dayton is one of three top 15 teams to earn the award this season, along with Cal and Stanford … Dayton and Fordham are the only two teams from the Atlantic 10 Conference to earn the award.
A-10 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive Player of the Week
Megan Campbell – Aug. 30
Campbell earned her first A-10 Player of the Week honor after being named MVP of the Green Bay/Country Inn & Suites Tournament. The Versailles, Ohio native registered a career-high eight blocks in UD’s season opening, 3-1, triumph against North Dakota, before combining for 33 kills in the Flyers’ two matches on Saturday against James Madison and host Green Bay. Campbell had 16 kills on an astounding .789 hitting percentage in the three-set sweep of the Dukes and produced a career-best 17 kills, to go along with her six blocks in a 3-1 victory at Green Bay. She finished the weekend with 41 kills for a .400 hitting percentage, 16 total blocks and five digs.
Defensive Player of the Week
Paige Vargas – Aug. 30
Vargas earned her first A-10 Defensive Player of the Week honor after helping Dayton to a perfect 3-0 weekend with 62 digs and averaging 5.64 digs per set. The Naperville, Ill., native posted a career-high 35 digs in a four-set win against Green Bay Aug. 27 – the most by any Flyer since she recorded 31 against Xavier on Nov. 22, 2009. Vargas’ defensive passing and reception helped hold UD’s competitors to a .183 hitting percentage.
