UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The University of Dayton volleyball is set to make the program's 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament Friday evening. Dayton will take on Pittsburgh at Penn State's Rec Hall with first serve set for 5 p.m.

About Dayton
Dayton (30-1, 14-0 A-10) comes into the First Round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament ranked 23rd nationally and carrying the nation's best winning percentage (.938). The Flyers last played on Nov. 20 in the finals of the Atlantic 10 Championship as Dayton defeated Saint Louis, 3-2, to earn the A-10's automatic bid to national post-season play. UD is led by junior Jessica Sloan with 3.92 kills/set (3rd A-10, 58th NCAA) and A-10 Libero of the Year sophomore Margo Wolf with 4.99 digs/set (2nd A-10, 36th NCAA). Sophomore Kendyll Brown swings at a league-best .438 (3rd NCAA) while junior Amber Erhahon is right behind her with a .420 hitting percentage (2nd A-10, 8th NCAA). Erhahon is the team's leading blocker with 1.21 blocks/set (5th A-10, 65th NCAA) and A-10 Setter of the Year Jane Emmenecker sets 11.02 assists/set (1st A-10, 25th NCAA).

Scouting Pittsburgh
After closing out the regular season with a four-match winning streak, Pittsburgh (24-8, 15-5 ACC) earned an at-large bid to national post-season play. This is the Panthers' first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2004 and the program's 14th overall. Pitt is led by ACC Setter of the Year Kamalani Akeo with 10.92 assists/set (3rd ACC) and Stephanie Williams with 3.78 kills/set (4th ACC).

Series Stuff
Dayton holds a 4-2 lead in the all-time series against Pittsburgh, which dates back to 1977. The Flyers won the first meeting in the late 70s, 2-1, but the Panthers took the most recent match, 3-0, on Aug. 30, 2014.

RPI Rankings
In the NCAA's most recent Rating Percentage Index (RPI) posted Monday, Nov. 28, Dayton came in at 28 according to NCAA.com. Pittsburgh came in at 39.

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 215-56 and his career win-loss mark sits at 391-220 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 11 times (2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007, 2005, 2004, 2003) and are making their 12th NCAA appearance in program history in 2016.
• Through matches on Nov. 26, Dayton ranked in the top 10 nationally in three categories: first in match win-loss percentage (.968), seventh in assists/set (13.61), eighth in kills/set (14.50) and 10th in hitting percentage (.282). Individually, sophomore Kendyll Brown ranked third in the NCAA with a .438 hitting percentage and right behind her was junior Amber Erhahon in eighth with a .420 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
For the second-consecutive match, Dayton got behind 2-1 only to come roaring back to claim a 3-2 win over Saint Louis in the 2016 Atlantic 10 Championship finals, earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. For the match, the Flyers out-hit the Billikens, .342 to .235, as junior Jessica Sloan tallied 23 kills. Sophomore Lauren Bruns added 16 kills, junior Amber Erhahon had 14 kills to go with seven blocks and sophomore Kendyll Brown was the fourth Flyer in double digits with 11.

Dayton in the NCAA Tournament
The Flyers are making their 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history in 2016. Dayton has made the field of 64 for three-consecutive years and in nine of the last 10 seasons. UD head coach Tim Horsmon has led the Flyers to a national post-season appearance seven times in his eight years at the helm of the program. Dayton has made it to the Second Round seven times and holds an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 7-11.

Playing at Penn State
For the third-consecutive year, Dayton has been assigned to play at Penn State. In 2014, Dayton defeated American 3-1 in the First Round and fell to fifth-ranked Penn State, 3-0, the following day. Last season, Dayton took down Villanova 3-1 in first-round action and advanced to take on eighth-ranked Penn State. The Flyers were able to take one set off the Nittany Lions (25-13 in the second, the lowest set point total of the season for PSU) but fell to the defending national champions, 3-1. One other notable, Dayton Director of Athletics Neil Sullivan graduated from Penn State in 2002.

Third Time's the Charm
For the third-consecutive season junior Jane Emmenecker was 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.

She's at the Top
Junior Amber Erhahon has a very efficient swing, currently ranking eighth in all of NCAA DI and second in the A-10 with a .420 hitting percentage this season. For her career, Erhahon's .402 hitting percentage (789-175-1529) ranks number one all-time in the Flyers' record book (min. 300 kills) and ranks fourth nationally among active career leaders.

Moving Up the Ranks
Junior Jane Emmenecker recently moved into third place all-time among Dayton's setters with 3,718 career assists. The three-time Atlantic 10 Setter of the Year continues to move up the ranks this season and just passed former Flyer and 2006 A-10 Setter of the Year Erin Schroeder (3,614). For the season, Emmenecker is first in the A-10 and 25th nationally with 11.02 assists/set.

Hit Me One More Time
Dayton's front court has two very formidable middle blockers in junior Amber Erhahon (1.21 blocks/set, 5th A-10) and sophomore Kendyll Brown (0.92 blocks/set). What is unique about this duo of blockers is that they are both very accurate on the attack as well. Brown hits at a league-best .438 which ranks third nationally while Erhahon swings at .420 (2nd A-10, 8th NCAA).

200 and Counting
Dayton head coach Tim Horsmon currently has 215 wins at the helm of the Flyer program between his two stints (eight total seasons). Horsmon collected 128 wins between 2003 and 2007 and has 86 wins over 2014, 2015 and 2016. He is the second-winningest Dayton coach, behind UD's first head coach R. Elaine Dreidame who amassed 310 wins (1970-79).

13th to 1,000
With two wins at the 2014 Bowling Green Hampton Inn Invitational, Dayton surpassed the 1,000-win mark as a program and is just the 13th NCAA DI team to attain that level of success. The Flyers currently rank 13th all-time in the Division I record book with an overall program tally of 1,085-566 (.657) over 47 seasons (1970).

Hausfeld Court
Former Flyer Kacie Hausfeld passed away tragically in an airplane crash during her time as a Dayton Flyer. In her memory, her family made a substantial contribution to the Dayton volleyball program. That donation enabled the program to renovate Frericks Center, adding a new public address and sound system, new seating on the event level, new scoreboards and video boards and the playing surface was named "Hausfeld Court" among many other improvements to the facility.

Follow the Flyers on Social Media
Fans can follow the official UD Volleyball social media outlets by liking Facebook.com/udaytonvb, on Twitter by following this handle: @DaytonVB and udaytonvb on Instagram. Hashtags for Flyer Volleyball include UDVB and GoFlyers. You can also follow all of your favorite Flyers teams on the department's SnapChat account, DaytonAthletics.

#UDVB = #Winning
After suffering its only loss of the season on Sept. 16, Dayton has now won 19 consecutive matches heading into Friday's match against Pittsburgh. The 19-game winning streak ranks fourth in the nation. Fairfield ranks first (22), Western Kentucky is second (21) and Creighton is third (20).

Flyer Faithful
Dayton ranks first in the Atlantic 10 and 65th out of 334 NCAA DI teams in average home attendance. Frericks Center averages 819 fans per home contest for the Flyers. Shout out to all the Flyer Faithful, including Red Scare, for giving the Flyers the home-court advantage!

Just Flyers Please
When referring to the University of Dayton volleyball team (or any other Dayton athletic team), we ask that you refer to us simply as "Flyers." Not "Lady Flyers". Thanks for your cooperation.

Up Next
With a win on Friday, Dayton will advance to face the winner of Penn State/LIU Brooklyn. The Second Round match is set for 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.