DAYTON – The Flyers have their final non-conference road tournament of the season this weekend in Minneapolis, Minn. UD will face South Dakota State, No. 13 Minnesota and RV USF in the three-day Diet Coke Classic on Sept. 12-14.

The Minnesota Gophers have been consistently in the AVCA Poll, but South Florida is newly receiving votes. Dayton dropped out of the Top 25 but continues to earn votes.

MARQUETTE WEEKEND RESULTS
Dayton split matches with Western Kentucky and Buffalo at Marquette on Sept. 5. Both matches were three sets, with the Flyers falling to the Hilltoppers but sweeping the Bulls.

Panna Ratkai led Dayton in points (21) and points per set (3.50), including a season-high 12 kills and six blocks in the win over Buffalo. Melina Schrader, who was second on the team in digs with 11, totaled 29 assists in four sets. Libero Karissa Kaminski finished the day with 20 digs and a new career-high in aces with five against Buffalo.

HOMETOWN VISITS
This tournament marks the end of three trips that had extra personal connections to the team. Viktoria Wahlgren was quite familiar with the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, as she spent her freshman and sophomore years with the Utes. Last weekend, the Flyers were about an hour south of Karissa Kaminski's hometown of Howards Grove, Wis. while in Milwaukee. Being in Minneapolis this weekend, Claire Logeais will be only 40 minutes from Prior Lake, Minn., her hometown.

KEEPING WATCH
Karissa Kaminski and Liana Sarkissian are both nearing career milestones.

Averaging 4.11 digs per set and already at 1236 digs, Kaminski is well on her way to the 1,500 mark for career digs. Sarkissian currently sits at 459 kills, averaging 2.18 kills per set, inching closer to 500 career kills.

Additionally, Kaminski is No. 12 in the country and second in the Atlantic 10 for aces per set at 0.78.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Transfers Lejla Sara Hadžiredžepović, Panna Ratkai and Victoria Wahlgren are no strangers to playing volleyball at a high level. All three have experience playing internationally this past summer.

Hadžiredžepović has played on teams in the European Volleyball Confederation, representing Iceland, since 2020. This summer she played on the CEV Volleyball European Silver League team. Ratkai has also represented her home country of Hungary in the European Volleyball League, playing on Hungary's CEV Volleyball European Golden League team. Wahlgren brought home hardware as a member of Canada's U23 Pan American team, helping her team reach the championships and earn silver.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
South Dakota State is 3-1 this season and on a two-match winning streak with wins over Ole Miss and Wyoming in their home invitational last weekend. The Jackrabbits were selected first in the Summit League's preseason poll with Sydni Schetnan and Sylvie Zgonc being named Players to Watch. Zgonc leads the Jacks with 62 kills. This will be the first meeting between Dayton and South Dakota State.

The Gophers, ranked No. 13 in this week's AVCA Top 25, boasts a 5-1 record and has won five straight. Julia Hanson, an All-Big Ten preseason selection and Player of the Week, leads Minnesota with 96 kills. Stella Swenson, who has already been a B1G Setter of the Week, has a team-most 220 assists this season. The Flyers have not faced the Gophers since 2012, where No. 10 Minnesota defeated No. 20 Dayton in three sets.

South Florida has a 2-3 record, winning matches against Florida State and South Carolina in their home tournament. The Bulls were voted second in the American Athletic Conference's preseason poll. Maria Clara Andrade was the conference's unanimous Preseason Player of the Year and currently leads USF with 70 kills. Dayton played USF twice in a tournament hosted by Florida Gulf Coast last season, winning both matches.

UP NEXT
Dayton will play its first official home matches of the season on Sept. 19-20 in the Flyer Invitational, hosting UC Santa Barbara, Illinois State and Wright State.