DAYTON - The University of Dayton volleyball team returns to the road this weekend as it travels to Springfield, Mo., for the Missouri State Fall Invitational Sept. 13-14. Dayton is scheduled to play SMU, Kansas State and host Missouri State at the two day event being held at the Bears' Hammons Student Center.

About Dayton
Dayton (3-4) went 2-1 this past weekend at its home tournament, including a tough 3-2 win over then-14th-ranked Michigan on Saturday night. Sophomores Maura Collins and Jamie Peterson were both named to the Dayton Invitational All-Tournament Team and Peterson was subsequently named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on Monday. The Flyers are led by Peterson with 4.32 kills/set and 0.46 aces/set while Collins is the team's leading passer with 4.21 digs/set. At the net, junior Olivia Dubay stuffs 0.83 blocks/set and junior Brooke Westbeld sets 5.56 assists/set.

Scouting SMU
SMU (4-1) picked up wins over Oral Roberts and Incarnate Word this past week after posting a 2-1 mark at its home tournament Aug. 30-31. The Mustangs return four starters plus the libero from last season and head coach Lisa Seifert collected her 400th career win in SMU's win over Oral Roberts on Sept. 5. Freshman Mekenzie Heckmann leads the team with 3.78 kills/set and senior Montana Watts gets under 4.79 digs/set for the Mustangs.

Scouting Kansas State
Kansas State (4-2) heads into this weekend riding a three-match winning streak after downing Clemson, Omaha and Central Arkansas in the K-State Invitational Sept. 5-7. Sophomore Brynn Carlson tallies a team-high 3.59 kills/set while freshman Dru Kuck is the team's leading passer with 4.00 digs/set. As a team, the Wildcats swing at a .236 clip.

Scouting Missouri State
Missouri State (2-5) opened the season with a 2-1 mark at its first home tourney of the year but has since dropped four straight matches. Amelia Flynn is the team's top attacker, averaging 3.58 kills/set and ranks second on the team with 2.29 digs/set. Two Bears tally 0.85 blocks/set while Leah Vokolek is the squad's leading passer with 4.11 digs/set.

Flyer Facts
• Tim Horsmon is in his 11th season overall, and sixth since 2007, as head coach of the Flyers in 2019. His record at Dayton is 264-77 and his career win-loss mark sits at 440-241 in 20 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 10 seasons (2009-2018), the Flyers have recorded a 130-12 (.916) mark in regular season 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 2017, 2014, 2011 and 2009.
• Dayton made its 19th-consecutive and 22nd overall appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship in 2018. The Flyers have reached conference post-season play every year they have been a member of the A-10 except 1995 and 1999. UD holds a 27-10 record in league tournaments.
• 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 12 times (2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007, 2005, 2004, 2003).
• In the program's 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, Dayton has reached the Second Round seven times and the Flyers hold a 7-13 all-time record in NCAA tourney matches.
• With two wins at the 2014 Bowling Green Hampton Inn Invitational, Dayton surpassed the 1,000-win mark as a program to become 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 1,134-594 (.656) over 50 seasons (1970).
• The Flyers finished the 2018 season with a 23-7 overall record and a 12-2 Atlantic 10 mark, finishing in second place in regular-season league play. 2018 is the program's 40th winning season and its 31st 20-win season.

Series Stuff
SMU: First Meeting
Kansas State: 1-1  Dayton and Kansas State last squared off on Sept. 15, 2012 at the Tulsa Hurricane Invitational. The Wildcats were ranked 19th and claimed a 3-0 win over the Flyers.
Missouri State: 2-1  The Flyers hold a slim lead in the all-time series but the Bears picked up a 3-1 win in Dayton on Aug. 31, 2013 at the Dayton Invitational.

RPI Rankings
In the NCAA's final Rating Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2018 season, Dayton ranked 28th according to NCAA.com. SMU was ranked 126, Kansas State was 51 and Missouri State came in at 115.

Last Time Out
Dayton closed out its home tournament Saturday with a 3-2 win over then-14th-ranked Michigan in front of a record-breaking crowd at Frericks Center. Sophomore Jamie Peterson recorded her third double-double of the season with a career-high 27 kills to go with 10 digs while also serving up a career-high four aces. Sophomore Maura Collins got under a match-high 26 digs and was just two assists off a double-double. Both were named to the All-Tournament Team for their efforts over the weekend.

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 recently 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. Additionally, over the summer, the program was also able to install Taraflex™ Sport M Performance Dry-Tex flooring in Frericks Center gym and added #14 to the sideline in honor of Kacie.

UD Picked First in A-10 Preseason Poll
Dayton volleyball has been predicted to claim the 2019 Atlantic 10 Conference Championship title according the preseason poll voted on by the league's 10 head coaches, which was announced Tuesday preceding the start of the season on August 30. Dayton was 12-2 in conference play and 23-8 overall in 2018, beating VCU 3-2 in the championship final for the top spot and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
2019 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Preseason Poll (number in parenthesis indicates first-place votes)
Dayton (8) 98
VCU (2) 92
Saint Louis 71
La Salle 63
George Washington 52
Duquesne 51
George Mason 48
Davidson 30
Fordham 28
Rhode Island 2

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, #FlyerLegacy and #GoFlyers.