DAVIDSON, N.C. - The 19th-ranked University of Dayton volleyball team is in North Carolina for the 2023 Atlantic 10 Championship. The top-seeded Flyers, who received a first-round bye, will square off against the winner of #4 Davidson/#5 Saint Louis Saturday at 1 p.m. in the tournament semifinal round. The Championship, hosted by Davidson, will be played at the Wildcats' Belk Arena Nov. 17-19.

ABOUT DAYTON
No. 18 Dayton (29-2) enters the weekend enjoying a 24-match winning streak, the program's second longest longest, and the Flyers have won 70 of their last 72 sets played. Averaging 2.37 aces/set, the Flyers lead all of Division I in that statistical category paced by sophomore Taylor Russell with 0.51 (18th NCAA). Junior Lexie Almodovar tallies 4.45 kills/set (15th NCAA) and 5.12 points/set (15th NCAA) while junior Alyssa Miller sets 10.62 assists/set (17th NCAA). Defensively, senior Amelia Moore collects 1.29 blocks/set (30th NCAA) and sophomore Karissa Kaminski gets under 4.66 digs/set (43rd NCAA).

LAST TIME OUT
Dayton wrapped up the 2023 regular season with two straight-set wins over VCU at home last weekend. The two victories capped a perfect 18-0 mark in Atlantic 10 matches, the sixth time in program history the Flyers were unbeaten in conference play. On Senior Day Saturday, Lexie Almodovar led all attackers with 15 kills and Gaby Arroyo served up a career-high five aces.

RPI RANKINGS
In the NCAA's most recent Rating Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2023 season released Nov. 13, Dayton ranked 22nd according to NCAA.com.
The Championship Field:
Loyola Chicago  52nd
VCU  134th
Davidson  140th
Saint Louis  202nd
Fordham  161st

AVCA/TARAFLEX TOP 25 COACHES POLL
In the Nov. 13 edition of the AVCA/TARAFLEX Division I Top 25 poll, Dayton was ranked 19th. This is the 10th-consecutive week the Flyers have appeared in the poll this season. Over the history of the AVCA WVB DI Coaches Top 25 Poll, Dayton has been ranked a total of 67 times and the program's highest ranking was No. 10 on Sept. 3, 2012.

DAYTON IN THE A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP
The Flyers hold a 37-11 record over 26 appearances in the Atlantic 10 Championship and UD has won 15 tournament titles in 19 finals appearances over the last 20 years. Last season, third-seeded Dayton fell to #1 Loyola Chicago in the finals, 3-1, on Nov. 20, 2022. It was the Flyers first A-10 Tourney loss since falling in the 2017 finals to top-seeded VCU, 3-2.

#A10VB YEAR-END AWARDS
For the seventh time during his 15-year tenure as Dayton volleyball head coach Tim Horsmon has been named the Atlantic 10 Volleyball Coach of the Year and junior outside hitter Lexie Almodovar has been named the A-10 Volleyball Player of the Year as announced by the league office Thursday. Almodovar becomes the 12th Flyer to earn A-10 Player of the Year accolades and this is the 17th time a member of the Dayton program has claimed the honor.

All-Conference First Team
Lexie Almodovar
Amelia Moore
Taylor Russell

All-Conference Second Team
Alyssa Miller

All-Academic Team
Lexie Almodovar
Amelia Moore
Alayna Yates

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