DAYTON – The No. 22-ranked University of Dayton volleyball team rallied back to win its opening match of the 2024 season over Northern Iowa, 3-2 (20-25, 25-21, 15-25, 25-16, 15-11), on Friday night at the Frericks Center.
 
Trailing 2-1 after three sets, the Flyers stormed back with a convincing 25-16 win in the fourth, and a 15-11 victory in the decisive fifth. Dayton committed just one attacking error in the final two sets, hitting a robust .483 to grab the momentum in the fourth set while holding the Panthers to just .143, and then continued that trend in the fifth by hitting .348 and holding UNI to a .148 mark.
 
UD finished the night out-hitting UNI .264 to .200, while also having twice as many blocks (16.5 to 8.0).
 
KEY STATS
35 – Assists for senior Alyssa Miller, who also added eight assists, six digs and four block assists
17 – A team-best 17 digs for junior Karissa Kaminski
16.5 – Total blocks for the Flyers, out-pacing the Panthers' eight
12 – Redshirt junior Taylor Russell led a balanced Flyer attack with 12 kills and added a pair of service aces
11 – Junior Liana Sarkissian added 11 kills while hitting .450 on the night
7 – Total blocks for redshirt senior Brooke Smith, setting a new career-high
4 – Assists for sophomore Gaby Arroyo, tying a career high, to go along with 10 digs
.538 – hitting percentage for redshirt senior Alayna Yates, who finished the night with seven kills and six blocks

UP NEXT
The Flyers return to the friendly confines of the Frericks Center for a pair of matches on Saturday afternoon, taking on FIU at 1 p.m. before facing off with RV Ohio State at 7 p.m.

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