DAYTON – The No. 24-ranked University of Dayton volleyball team heads to Bowling Green, Ky. for the Western Kentucky Hyatt Place Invitational, Sept. 13 - 14 at E.A. Diddle Arena.
 
The Flyers take on a talented field, starting with Illinois on Friday at 2 p.m. ET. UD then faces off with the host Hilltoppers as the marquee matchup on Friday night at 8 p.m. ET. The tournament wraps on Saturday when Dayton plays Marquette at 1:30 p.m. ET.
 
You Can Count On Miller
Senior setter Alyssa Miller, who was an Atlantic 10 All-Conference member a year ago, has picked up where she left off last season.
 
The Overland Park, Kan. is leading the A-10 in assists per set and ranks 12th in the NCAA, averaging a career-best 11.06 on the season. Miller is orchestrating a Flyers' offense that's hitting .322 on the campaign, which ranks fifth in the country heading into the weekend
 
Miller notched back-to-back 40-assist performances in three-set victories over Wright State and Bowling Green last weekend, including a season-high 42 against the Raiders.
 
Liana Sarkissian - Middle Maestro
Junior Liana Sarkissian has had a fast start to the 2024 campaign, sliding into the middle blocker role and averaging 2.73 kills per set while hitting a robust .480 and adding 1.20 blocks per set.
 
The Greenwich, Conn. native was named Most Valuable Player of the Wright State Invitational last week after averaging  3.13 kills per set while hitting .500 and also adding 1.13 blocks and digs per set.
 
Climbing The Leaderboard
Redshirt senior Lexie Almodovar has already etched her name in the Dayton record books, becoming the 18th AVCA All-American in program history a season ago, but has her sights set on more.
 
This season, the Noblesville, Ind. native looks to etch her name at the top of the all-time kills list in UDVB history. Almodovar is currently tied with former Flyer All-American Lindsay Fletemier (2007-10) for fourth in program history with 1,532 kills and needs 264 to pass Flyer Hall of Famer Faye Barhorst atop the leaderboard.
 
Almodovar can also become the seventh Flyer ever to reach 1,000+ career kills and 1,000+ career digs, currently sitting just 36 digs short of the threshold.
 
Block Party
The Flyers were the Atlantic 10's top defensive team a season ago, averaging 2.35 blocks per set while also holding opponents to a .147 attack percentage, and they've continued that blocking prowess in 2024.
 
Dayton has more than doubled its opponents blocking numbers this season (44.5 to 27), and has out-blocked teams in four of five matches. As a team, UD is averaging 2.62 blocks per set and allowing opponents to hit just .182.
 
The three-headed middle blocker monster of redshirt senior Alayna Yates (1.3 b/s), junior Liana Sarkissian (1.2 b/s) and graduate transfer Alia Williams (1.1 b/s) lead the way for the Flyer defense.
 
Closing in on 400
Dayton head coach Tim Horsmon, now in his 16th season as the Flyers' coach (2003-08; 2014-Present), sits just 20 wins away from 400 in his career at UD.
 
Horsmon, who is already the all-time winningest Dayton coach, has a 380-107 record while at the helm of the Flyers for an all-time winning percentage of .780. For his total 25-year career, Horsmon has a 556-271 record.
 
About The Opponents
Illinois comes into the weekend with a perfect 6-0 record, winning in two five-set thrillers at the Cyclone Invitational to finish last weekend. The Illini are led by graduate student Raina Terry, who is averaging 4.17 kills per set.
 
WKU is 4-3 on the season and is among others receiving votes in the AVCA Poll in Week 3. The Hilltoppers come into the season as the Conference USA favorites, with senior Kaylee Cox the preseason C-USA Player of the Year. Cox leads the team with 3.04 kills per set, while setter Callie Bauer is averaging 10.04 assists per set.
 
Marquette is 1-3 on the young season but have faced a gauntlet of an early season schedule. The Golden Eagles fell in straight sets to then-No. 5 Stanford and dropped a four-set match against then-No. 13 Kansas. Marquette is led by Aubrey Hamilton, who averages 3.43 kills per set on the season.
 
FOLLOW #UDVB
Follow the Flyers on X/Twitter: @DaytonVB, Facebook: University of Dayton Volleyball Page and Instagram: udaytonvb