DAYTON VOLLEYBALL OPENS NCAA TOURNEY WITH PEPPERDINE REMATCH

The No. 13 Flyers Defeated Pepperdine At Home Earlier This Season

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DAYTON, Ohio - The 13th-ranked University of Dayton women?s volleyball team will take on Pepperdine for the second time this season in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Division I Championships.? The match will take place at 8:30 p.m. ET in Eugene, Oregon at the Matthew Knight Arena.? The Flyers enter the match 26-4 and on an 18-match winning streak while the Waves are 20-11 on the year and winners of their last two.? The winner of the match will advance to second round for a meeting with either host Oregon or Northern Colorado.? The second round match will take place Saturday, Dec. 1 at 11 p.m. ET.

FLYERS IN THE AVCA RANKINGS
For the 12th week in a row, the Flyers earned a national ranking, coming in at No. 13 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Poll. Dayton fell one spot despite winning both matches last week. The previous high ranking came when UD was ranked No. 10 earlier this season. This is the 60th consecutive week the Flyers have either been ranked or received votes in the AVCA poll. UD?s streak of receiving votes dates back to Nov. 23, 2009.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE
The Waves are 20-11 on the season and 6-0 on neutral courts. Under the direction of 30th-year head coach Nina Matthies, Pepperdine is hitting for a .258 percentage and holding opponents to a .216 mark.? The Waves are averaging 14.6 kills, 13.7 assists, and 15.5 digs per set, all of which are higher than their opponents? averages.? Jazmine Orozco and Kellie Woolever are first team All-West Coast Conference performers while Victoria Adelhelm and Taylor Racich were on the All-Freshman team.? Earlier this season, Orozco and Adelhelm combined for 26 kills and 22 digs against the Flyers.? Woolever also recorded 44 assists.

ABOUT OREGON/NORTHERN COLORADO
The Ducks of Oregon are the host team and No. 6 in the nation according to the AVCA. At 23-4 on the year, Oregon has spent some time at No. 1 this season.? Alaina Bergsma leads the way with 4.91 kills per set, which ranks fifth in the nation.? As a team, the Ducks lead Division I in that category.

Northern Colorado went 24-10 this season en route to a Big Sky Championship.? The Bears are undefeated on neutral courts (3-0) and winners of their last five matches.? During that span UNC lost only one set, and is playing some of its best volleyball of the season.

SERIES STUFF
The Flyers have the following all-time record against these potential opponents.
Pepperdine????? 1-2??????? ??? ? Oregon/Northern Colorado 0-0

LAST MEETING
Dayton defeated Pepperdine earlier this season with a 3-1 win at home in the Flyer Classic.? The Flyers took the first set 25-19, before falling in the second, 25-18.? They then went on to take the last two 26-24, 25-18.? It was only Dayton?s second match of the year.

FLYERS ADVANCE TO THEIR SIXTH CONSECUTIVE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Dayton will make its sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championship. In 2011, Dayton fell to the Kentucky Wildcats in heartbreaking fashion 20-25, 25-16, 25-22, 15-25, 14-16. The appearance in the Big Dance will be UD?s ninth in the last 10 seasons. Dayton won the Atlantic 10?s automatic bid for the fourth straight year as regular season and tournament champions. The Flyers hold a 4-8 all-time record in the tournament and have advanced to the second round in two of the previous three seasons.

ALL-TIME RANKINGS
This season, a number of Flyers have moved up in the all-time rankings in a variety of statistical categories, cementing their names on the annals of Dayton volleyball history.? Rachel Krabacher is now 5th in career kills (1,461) and 2nd in career attempts (4,199).? Paige Vargas is now 2nd all-time in career digs (1,655).? Megan Campbell has excelled in multiple categories, moving into 6th in career hitting percentage (.316), 7th in career block assists (274), and is on pace for the second best single-season hitting percentage in program history (.413). Samantha Selsky is also 8th all-time in careers assists (2,383).

DOMINANT AT HOME
Dayton has won 33 straight home Atlantic 10 matches dating back to 2008.? The last time the Flyers dropped a conference match at the Frericks Center was against Saint Louis 3-2 on Nov. 15, 2008.

ON A ROLL
Dayton has now won 18 straight matches, dating back to Sept. 16.? With that, they have gone 12-1 away from home this season.

ATLANTIC 10 CHAMPS: 10-4
With the win over VCU on Nov. 4, the Flyers clinched their 10th overall regular season Atlantic 10 title and fourth consecutive championship.

ATLANTIC 10 TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Dayton has won the past four A-10 Tournament Championships and eight of the past 10.? Penn State, during its stint in the Atlantic 10, is the only other team in league history with as many tournament championships with eight.? UD was victorious over Xavier in the finals in 2010, 2011, and this year as well.

PROGRAM ON THE RISE
Dayton currently ranks No. 10 in all-time career wins with 979, passing Illinois State and Texas-Arlington this season.? The Flyers are just 21 wins shy of the 1,000 win mark, which only nine other schools have accomplished in their history.? Dayton?s program started in 1970.

ALL-TOURNAMENT PERFORMANCE
The Flyers had three players named to the All-Tournament team at the A-10 Championships after their fourth straight title. Rachel Krabacher was named Most Outstanding Player as well as All-Tournament while Samantha Selsky and Megan Campbell were both named All-Tournament.

ON THE OFFENSIVE ATTACK
The Dayton offense is one of the most dominant forces in the nation this season.? As a team, the Flyers are No. 9 in the nation in hitting percentage with a .293 mark.? They are also No. 9 in kills with 14.56 per set.? Both totals led the Atlantic 10.? The Flyers also led the conference in assists with 13.76 each set, and had three players in the Top 10 in the league in hitting percentage (Campbell, Hannan, Brown).

SETTING WITH SELSKY
Senior setter Samantha Selsky continues to drive the Flyer offensive attack. Selsky ranks 10th in the NCAA and leads the Atlantic 10 in assists (11.65 a/s).? She also had 47 assists against Duquesne, which was the highest total in a three-set match in the A-10 this year. Selsky recorded a career-high 60 assists at Western Michigan. She also had 50 assists on three other occasions, against Ohio, Ohio State, and Butler. Selsky was named Atlantic 10 Setter of the Year and an Atlantic 10 First Team All-Conference selection this year.

IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE
Selsky has helped Dayton rank No. 6 in the nation in assists per set at 13.76 each game.? With 1,188 on the year, the senior from California is on pace to break into the Top 10 all time for a single season.? Selsky also leads Dayton and is tied for first the Atlantic 10 with 11 double-doubles. She started the season with five double-doubles in her first seven matches.

KRAYBACHER?S LEAD
Senior Rachel Krabacher has been a veteran leader for the Flyers this year and continues to pace Dayton. Krabacher ranks 9th in the NCAA in kills per set (4.61) and leads the Atlantic 10. She won the Missouri State University Plaza Most Valuable Player award and a spot on the all-tournament team after leading Dayton with 45 kills (5.00/set) and ranked second in digs (2.78/set).

CAREER NIGHT
Rachel Krabacher, the 2011 and 2012 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, became the 20th Flyer to reach the 1,000-career kill mark at Dayton in the match versus No. 7 Illinois. Her career-high 500 kills last season was the seventh most in a single-season. Krabacher led UD with 17 kills against No. 7 Illinois, added nine versus No. 11 Pepperdine and 20 versus Ohio.

FOLLOWING VARGAS
Defensive specialist Paige Vargas continues to solidify the Flyer defense. She moved from the libero position to the defensive specialist spot this season. The results have been strong with Vargas playing in all 102 sets and helping the Flyers limit opponents to a .177 hitting percentage. In the Flyer Classic, Vargas made 20 digs. Vargas ranks second in career digs at Dayton with 1,543 after three seasons as the starting libero. She has added 194 more this season. Dayton?s career digs record is held by Adrienne Ross-Green (2004-07) with 2,070.

MAKING HISTORY
Dayton sophomore Isolde Hannan was named the Atlantic 10 Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 1, a feat that has happened only one other time in conference history.? The last player to earn both accolades was former Dayton All-American Lindsay Fletemier on Nov. 5, 2009.

HANNAN AT THE HELM
Hannan totaled a team-high 25 kills, a .676 hitting percentage to earn the conference?s Offensive Player of the Week award in September. The middle blocker posted 12 kills in 14 attempts to record an .857 hitting percentage on Friday in a 3-0 sweep of La Salle, which was the highest percentage of any player in the A-10 this year. The following night she had 13 kills and hit .550 against lead-leading Temple, handing the Owls their first league loss. The Dublin, Ohio native captured the defensive award by recording 14 total blocks for a per-set average of 2.33. She had a season-high 11 blocks against Temple Saturday night, recording a double-double in kills and blocks on Saturday.

WHAT A WEEK
Megan Campbell, a Third Team 2011 AVCA All-American, was named Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 24 for her efforts. Campbell led the then No. 22 Flyers to a pair of wins to open up Atlantic 10 play as Dayton defeated Butler and Saint Louis.? The outside hitter from Versailles, Ohio, hit an outstanding .635 attack percentage, while averaging 3.86 kills per set.? Campbell totaled 16 kills on 22 attempts against Butler with two service aces, three blocks, and a .682 hitting percentage.? She followed that up with an 11-kill, .558 percentage performance against Saint Louis Saturday.

TOP OF THE CONFERENCE
Campbell currently leads the A-10 with a .413 hitting percentage. That also ranks No. 9 in the nation. She started her dominance earning all-tournament team honors at the University Plaza Invitational. At that tournament, she hit .432 and had the second-most blocks on the team with nine.? Campbell also ranks fifth in the A-10 blocks.

CAN YOU DIG IT?
Freshman Janna Krafka has made a name for herself in a short amount of time. Krafka had a streak of 13 consecutive matches with 10 or more digs to start the season before the match against Saint Louis ended the stretch. The freshman earned the 2012 Flyer Classic Most Outstanding Player award. She came back at the University Plaza Invitational and tallied 51 digs in nine sets. Krafka set a career-high last match with 34 digs against Western Michigan.

FRESHMEN EXPERIENCE
True freshman Alaina Turner has seen a spike in playing time due to her success and tenacity on the court. She enjoyed a memorable opening weekend earning a spot on the Flyer Classic All-Tournament team. She was second on the team with 11 kills against No. 7 Illinois. She added another 11 kills for the team-lead against No. 11 Pepperdine. She added 15 kills in the victory against Ohio. Turner ranks third on the team in kills per set (2.45) and has moved into the starting rotation.

DOWNTOWN BROWN
In the Flyers? recent stretch, right side/middle blocker Shayne Brown has been active on both sides of the court.? With 69 blocks and 183 kills this season, Brown has provided Dayton a spark both offensively and defensively.? She currently ranks No. 6 in the A-10 in hitting percentage (.346).? Brown had a season-high 13 kills and a .706 hitting percentage against Fordham on Oct. 12.

BLOCK PARTY
Isolde Hannan, nicknamed Z by her teammates, earned an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team spot in 2011. Hannan leads Dayton with 128 blocks and is third in the A-10 with 1.27 per set. At the Golden Hurricane Invitational, she totaled 13 blocks in three matches. She recorded seven blocks in the win over No. 11 Pepperdine. Hannan was the ninth Flyer on an All-Rookie Team and first since Rachel Krabacher in 2009. Last year she recorded 104 total blocks and 0.93 blocks per set, which led all A-10 freshmen.? Her season best was an 11-block performance against Temple, and she ranks No. 46 in the nation in that category as well.

THE MOREY THE BETTER
Allyson Morey adds quality depth from the Flyer bench. This season, the junior defensive specialist has recorded double digit digs on eight seperate occasions, including the past four matches.? Last year, Morey led the A-10 in service aces and has added 13 this season.

FLYERS EARN ATLANTIC 10 AWARDS
Dayton has had five different players win A-10 awards this season. A pair of Dayton Flyers received Atlantic 10 weekly awards on Aug. 27 as senior Rachel Krabacher earned the Atlantic 10?s Offensive Player of the Week award and freshman Janna Krafka named the co-Defensive Player of the Week. It was the sixth time Krabacher has earned an A-10 Offensive Player of the Week award in her Dayton career and Krafka?s first collegiate career weekly award.? Megan Campbell won the Offensive nod on Sept. 24. Isolde Hannan received both Offensive and Defensive awards on Oct. 1, marking the second time in A-10 history a player did so.? Both times were by a Dayton Flyer (Fletemier, 2009).? Krabacher won the Offensive Award again on Oct. 15 with a 4.5 kills per set average.? Hannan earned her second Defensive POW nod on Oct. 22 after posting 11 blocks in two matches.? Last week, Samantha Selsky won her first award, being named Off. Player of the Week with a 13 assists per set average. In the final release by the A-10, Janna Krafka earned her second award of the season, being named Def. POW.

TWO FLYERS NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT IN 2012
Megan Campbell (First Team) and Rachel Krabacher (Second Team) were named Capital One Academic All-District 5, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America in 2012. First Team Academic All-District? honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America? Team ballot. Both players were awarded last season for their academic achievements as well. Campbell was named First Team once again with Krabacher taking Second Team accolades.

SHEFFIELD NAMED A-10 COACH OF THE YEAR, SIX ON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS IN 2012
Five players in 2012 were named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Teams, led by Player of the Year Rachel Krabacher, Setter of the Year Samantha Selsky and Coach of the Year Kelly Sheffield. All three were repeat awards from last season. Middle blocker Megan Campbell joined Krabacher and Selsky as First Team All-Conference selections. Outside hitter Alaina Turner and libero Janna Krafka were All-Rookie Team selections. Dayton has had the A-10 Player of the Year four consecutive seasons and the Coach of the Year three consecutive seasons.?

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Source: http://www.daytonflyers.com/news/?article_id=9379

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