DAYTON – The University of Dayton makes its return to the friendly confines of the Frericks Center for the first time this season on Sept. 19-20.

The Flyers host Illinois State, UCSB and Wright State in the Flyer Invitational with three matches on each day of the tournament. All three home matches will be live on ESPN+.

CHAPEL BLUE OUT AND POST-GAME AUTOGRAPHS
Friday's 7 p.m. match against UCSB will be a chapel blue out. The first 200 fans and 100 students will receive a chapel blue t-shirt. Fans can also take part in post-game autographs after each Dayton volleyball match.

DIET COKE CLASSIC RECAP
At the Diet Coke Classic in Minneapolis, Dayton dropped matches to No. 12 Minnesota, RV South Dakota State and South Florida. The Flyers were swept by the Gophers and the Jackrabbits but forced the Bulls to five sets.

In Sunday's match against South Florida, the fifth set went to 27-25, which is currently the highest-scoring fifth set in Division I.

Kamryn Hunt was named to the Diet Coke Classic All-Tournament Team with 40 kills, 3.64 kills per set, 13 digs and three block assists. Her 21 kills against South Florida is a season-high and her most with the Flyers.

NEW YEAR, NEW LOOK
As the season progresses, new faces are playing prominent roles on this year's roster. In last weekend's starting lineups, Liana Sarkissian and Karissa Kaminski were the only returners.

Additionally, Dayton's offensive efforts run as both a 5-1 and a 6-2 with Viktoria Wahlgren's ability to be both a setter and an outside hitter. Transfers Kamryn Hunt and Panna Ratkai along with freshman Melina Schrader have been key pieces of the starting lineup recently.

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

Averaging 4.41 digs per set and already at 1290 digs, Kaminski is well on her way to the 1,500 mark for career digs. Sarkissian currently sits at 485 kills, averaging 1.84 kills per set, inching closer to 500 career kills.

Additionally, Kaminski is No. 49 in the country and leads the Atlantic 10 in digs per set at 4.41.

GEM CITY SHOWDOWN
The final match of the tournament will be Dayton versus Wright State. This cross-city matchup will break a 31-31 series record that was tied up last season.

At 2024's Wright State Invitational, the Flyers swept the Raiders in the McLin Gymnasium in Fairborn, Ohio. Lexie Almodovar led Dayton with 16 kills, but Taylor Russell had seven with six digs and a block. Liana Sarkissian was just behind Russell with six kills, three blocks, four digs and an ace.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
The Redbirds are 4-5 this season and have lost their last three matches. Illinois State was picked third in the Missouri Valley Conference's preseason poll with Khenedi Guest and Aida Shadewald earning placement on the preseason All-MVC team. Guest is currently second on the team with 65 kills and first with 39 total blocks. This will be the twelfth meeting between Dayton and Illinois State. The Flyers won the last meeting in five sets in 2022.

UCSB has a 6-3 overall record after falling to Pepperdine in five sets Tuesday night. The Gauchos were voted fourth in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll. Ava Travis, who was the 2024 Rookie of the Year and named a Preseason All-Big West selection this season, leads her team with 160 kills. This will be the first meeting between the Flyers and the Gauchos.

Wright State is 5-3 and on a two-match winning streak, defeating Ohio State and Ohio at home last weekend. The Raiders were picked first in the Horizon League's Preseason Poll. Mya Ayro, a two-time Horizon League Player of the Week, leads the Raiders with 142 kills so far this season. Dayton is on a two-match win streak over Wright State.

UP NEXT
The Flyers will open their Atlantic 10 schedule on the road against Davidson on Sept. 26-27.