ST. LOUIS - University of Dayton volleyball will be defending its Atlantic 10 Championship title this weekend in St. Louis. The three-day tournament kicks off Friday with first-round matches and top-seeded #22 Dayton will play the winner of #4 Duquesne/#5 VCU Saturday evening in the semifinal round.

About Dayton
Dayton (28-1, 14-0 A-10), currently ranked 22nd in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, is enjoying the nation's third-longest winning streak at 17 matches. The Flyers recorded their fourth perfect Atlantic 10 season by closing out the regular season with wins over Davidson and VCU at home. UD is led by junior Jessica Sloan with 3.94 kills/set (3rd A-10) while sophomore Kendyll Brown leads the league with a .432 hitting percentage (3rd NCAA). Sophomore Margo Wolf leads the conference with 5.12 digs/set (22nd NCAA) and junior Amber Erhahon leads the Flyer block with 1.18 per set (5th A-10). Junior Jane Emmenecker leads the conference in assists with 11.11 assists/set (21st NCAA) while the Flyers rank third in the NCAA in assists per set with 13.80.

Scouting Duquesne
Duquesne (18-11, 8-6 A-10) earned the No. 4 seed for the championship after finishing the regular season with a 3-0 sweep of La Salle at home on Nov. 12. The Dukes' Molly Davet earned Second Team All-Conference honors while Dani Suiter was named to the A-10 All-Rookie squad. Davet leads the DUQ attack with 2.79 kills/set (9th A-10) while also getting under 3.64 digs/set (7th A-10) and Suiter ranks third in the league with 9.68 assists/set and sixth with 0.32 aces/set.

Scouting VCU
VCU (18-13, 8-6) claimed the No. 5 seed in the championship after dropping its last two matches of the regular season, 3-0 at Saint Louis and 3-1 at Dayton. The Rams' Julia Adler was named to the A-10 Second Team while the duo of Jasmin Sneed and Vicky Giommarini earned All-Rookie honors. Sneed ranks sixth in the conference with 1.13 blocks/set and
Alicia Kandler is the Rams' leading attacker with 2.41 kills/set.

Series Stuff
*Dayton holds a 41-4 lead over Duquesne in the all-time series between the two, including two wins this season: 3-1 on Oct. 23 and 3-1 on Nov. 4
*In 10 meetings between Dayton and VCU, the Flyers have an 8-2 advantage in the series. Dayton defeated VCU twice this season: 3-1 on Oct. 14 and 3-1 on Nov. 13.

RPI Rankings
In the NCAA's most recent Rating Percentage Index (RPI) posted Monday, Nov. 14, Dayton came in at 31 according to NCAA.com. Duquesne is ranked 175th and VCU is 160th.

Flyer Facts
• Tim Horsmon is in his eighth season overall, and third since 2007, as head coach of the Flyers in 2016. His record at Dayton is 213-56 and his career win-loss mark sits at 389-220 in 18 seasons as a head coach. Horsmon is the program's second-winningest coach behind only R. Elaine Dreidame who amassed 310 wins 1970-79.
• Over the last eight seasons (2009-2016), the Flyers have recorded a 106-9 (.923) mark in Atlantic 10 Conference play, including a perfect 14-0 mark in 2016, 2015 and 2012 and a 15-0 record in 2010. UD suffered only one conference loss in 2014, 2011 and 2009.
• Dayton has won the Atlantic 10 Regular Season title 13 times (2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2001, 1998). The Flyers have won the A-10 Championship title a league-record 10 times (2015, 2014, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007, 2005, 2004, 2003) and made their 11th NCAA appearance in program history in 2015.
• Dayton currently ranks in the top five nationally in three categories: first in match win-loss percentage (.966), third in assists/set (13.80) and fifth in kills/set (14.68). Individually, sophomore Kendyll Brown ranks third in the NCAA with a .432 hitting percentage and right behind her is junior Amber Erhahon in eighth with a .419 percentage.
• The Flyers finished the 2016 regular season with a 28-1 overall record and a 14-0 Atlantic 10 mark, finishing in first place in regular-season league play. 2016 is the program's 38th winning season.

Last Time Out
VCU was Dayton's final regular-season opponent and the Rams gave the Flyers a run for their money. UD won the first two but VCU controlled set three all the way to a 25-17 win. But, Dayton closed out the match with a 25-14 win in the fourth. Junior Jessica Sloan and sophomore Lauren Bruns led the Flyers with 17 kills each.

Third Time's the Charm
For the third-consecutive season junior Jane Emmenecker has been voted the Atlantic 10 Conference Setter of the Year, as announced by the league office on Nov. 17. And don't forget, head coach Tim Horsmon was named the A-10 Coach of the Year for the third-straight time as well - his fourth overall A-10 Coach of the Year honor.

Who Else?
In addition to Emmemecker's and Horsmon's year-end awards, sophomore Margo Wolf was named the conference's Libero of the Year. Wolf also earned mention on the All-Conference Second Team. Speaking of All-Conference, the Flyers placed four on the First Team in juniors Jane Emmenecker, Amber Erhahon and Jessica Sloan along with sophomore Kendyll Brown. Freshman Jamie Peterson was named to the All-Rookie squad. Junior Maggie Schutter and Wolf were named to the All-Academic Team.

Dayton in the A-10 Championship
The Flyers hold a 24-9 record over 19 appearances in the Atlantic 10 Championship and have won 10 tournament titles in 12 finals appearances over the last 13 years. The last time Dayton lost an A-10 Tournament match was a 3-1 loss to top-seeded and eventual champion Duquesne in the semifinals of the 2013 Championship played in Washington, D.C. (Nov. 23, 2013).