DAYTON (OH) -- Last season was a remarkable campaign for the UD women’s volleyball team, racking up 30 victories for the second time in program history, earning A10 season and tourney titles, and making it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. As magical as the season unfolded however, the offseason turned everything upside down. Setter Kacie Hausfeld and her father lost their lives in a single engine plane crash south of Dayton. Were the loss not tragic enough on a personal level, the Flyers were already thin at Kacie’s position heading into 2010. But Dayton made the best of a tough situation and has its sights set on a deep NCAA tourney run this year.
Despite all of the ups and downs over the last six months, the Flyers might have their most talented team in program history, helped in part to some timely transfers and a bevy of star players returning to the court. The optimism didn’t fall on deaf ears at the national level as UD earned a #21 ranking in the preseason AVCA poll – the program’s first preseason ranking ever. It’s safe to say everyone in and around the Flyer volleyball program expect big things in 2010, but a brutal schedule could get in the way of those ambitions. Nevertheless, Dayton is poised to be among the national headliners for much of the fall.
KEY LOSSES
Talented freshman setter Hannah Clancy transferred out. Combined with the shocking death of Hausfield, the Flyers were left without a setter on the entire roster heading into the spring. Perhaps no position is more important on the team and the UD coaching staff suddenly went from sky-high expectations to damage control. Add the graduation of defensive specialist Chelsy Christoff and the losses were not large in numbers, but large in terms of how and where they happened.
NEWCOMERS
During the spring, freshman recruit Allyson Morey out of Muncie, IN, was the only setter on the 2010 roster. As much potential as she has, handing the setter position over to a true frosh on a Top-25 program isn’t exactly a coach’s dream scenario. But Head Coach Kelly Sheffield didn’t sit on his hands. Instead, he brought in a pair of D-I transfer setters that might be the most timely and opportunistic additions in program history – nevermind the two most-highly rated transfers ever.
First to matriculate to UD was RS sophomore Santa Clara transfer Samantha Selsky, a product of the talent-rich west coast volleyball circuit. A Top-100 recruit out of Manhattan Beach, CA, Selsky spent a year earning her stripes in the tough West Coast Conference before accepting a spot on UD’s roster. Suddenly things were looking much better for the Flyers, the setter position went from diabolically uncertain to a team strength.
The good news didn’t stop however as Sheffield convinced Nebraska setter Jessica Yanz to play her fifth season of eligibility in Dayton. Yanz was a prep All-American out of Illinois and one of the most highly-recruited players in the nation before committing to Penn State. In two seasons at PSU, she won a national title and backed up the best setter in the country at the collegiate level. Looking for more playing time and a better fit, she transferred to Big-12 power Nebraska. While sitting out a year to transfer rules, she fell behind another soon-to-be All-American setter and once again found herself on the outside looking in. Though a valuable contributor, her volleyball appeared over after graduation. With an optional fifth year available however, Dayton was the perfect chance to fill an immediate need and finally be a star on the court.
In a matter of one summer, the Flyers went from victim to victorious on the recruiting trail.
While the setter position was a primary focus, other newcomers were already in place to help fill other holes, each bringing their own outstanding credentials.
Megan Campbell, a 6-1 middle blocker from talent-rich Versailles, is yet another product from the rural farmland of west-central Ohio where the high schools are small but the volleyball talent among the best in the state. Dayton has mined this area for years; it’s the secret door the program knocks on to find top talent under the nose of Big-10 schools. Campbell fits nicely into that stereotype and was all-everything on the volleyball court during her prep career. She’s an impact player and should see playing time early and often.
Evelyn Carus and RS frosh Shayne Brown round out the other fresh options as a defensive specialist and middle blocker respectively. As a unit, the 2010 class of freshmen and transfers makes for one of UD’s all-time best (and most important).
OFFENSE
Dayton has a chance to be dominating at the nets this year, led by senior AVCA All-American Lindsay Fletemeier, a 6-6 hammer from Garden City, MI. Fletemeier routinely hits a percentage among the nation’s best and is the go-to player in the Flyer offense when UD needs to saddle up and ride someone to victory.
The senior trifecta of Amanda Cowdrey, Becky Novacek, and Tiffany Gaerke bring All-Conference credentials and serious experience to the offensive side, both on the ends and down the middle of the net. Combined with Fletemeier, the fearsome foursome provides Dayton with enough diversity to move the ball all over the court and wear teams down with quality depth.
The wildcard is Yvonne Marten, a RS junior with arguably the most athletic ability on the roster. Maligned with injuries for most of her career, fans have yet to see a healthy Marten for an entire season. Reports over the summer indicate she’s as healthy as she’s ever been and if that’s true, Marten brings another All-Conference talent to the rotation. She also wields one of the hardest-hitting palms in the Atlantic 10.
Future A10 All-Conference star Rachel Krabacher, a sophomore, was an impact freshman last year and is the ‘next big thing’ in Flyer volleyball. At 6-4, she has the size to intimidate.
Junior Anna Eytchison, a former Top-100 recruit out of HS, took a major step forward last year as an additional hitter in the Flyer offense and has a chance to become a focal point in the offense. She earned the 2009 team award for Most Improved Player for her efforts.
With Yanz and Selsky sharing setter duties, Dayton should have one of the best helper combinations in the Midwest. Against inferior competition, the Flyers should have no trouble taking care of business. They must remain unpredictable however against the ranked foes. When UD becomes telepathic at the net, opposing teams tend to create defensive trouble for UD’s power hitters.
Dayton has also made great strides in improving team serving. Once a weakness, it's no longer a liability but a team strength at times.
DEFENSE
Over the last five seasons, no area has improved more than UD’s defense. Once a weak spot against just about any opponent, Dayton has learned to grind out points and play themselves back into matches they might have lost in seasons past. The ability to dig balls off the surface and break an opposing offense’s spirit has been as much a credit to Dayton’s success under Sheffield as the hard-swinging hitters on offense.
Senior defensive sparkplug Racheal Broerman, at just 5-4, keeps the ball in play on defense. Sophomore Paige Vargas brings added depth on defense and started a bunch of matches in 2009 at Libero. Others chip in when and where they can as the Flyer defense is a team effort everyone takes credit for.
SCHEDULE
Only a sadist would line up a schedule like this, but let’s be honest: if the Flyers want to be the best, they must beat the best. It was time for the Flyers to go after the juggernauts of college volleyball and Coach Sheffield turned no cheek to make that happen. The 2010 non-conference schedule is by far the toughest in program history.
Dayton opens the season with Pitt, Arizona State, and VCU at home – none of them cupcakes. Things get real interesting after that. Dayton travels to Minneapolis to take on #24 Northern Iowa, #27 Baylor, and #6 Minnesota. Then they catch a plane to Lincoln, NE, to face #2 Nebraska, #6 Illinois, and MAC power Western Michigan. The final of three road tournaments concludes at Notre Dame with UD battling Santa Clara, Delaware, and the #37 Irish.
The coaches, players, and fans will know exactly what kind of team we have by mid-September. The Flyers shouldn’t be expected to win every non-con match, but they must beat a couple Top-25 teams to prove they belong and deserved the preseason national ranking. As good as Dayton is, the Flyers could play their best in several non-conference matches and still lose; that’s the challenge Sheffield’s team faces. If UD is successful however, the national credibility and recognition will put the Flyers in a truly elite volleyball category for the first time in program history.
The A10 schedule boasts the usual suspects with home-home series among all teams. Dayton was picked first in the conference preseason poll, with St. Louis challenging as most likely to knock Dayton off the perch. Don’t sleep on
Xavier however. Both teams have had some success against UD over the last 2-3 years and have a knack for pushing the right buttons.
OUTLOOK
From ashes to astonishing potential is how to best characterize the roller coaster offseason for the UD women’s volleyball team. It’s a team with loads of talent and only a few weaknesses. The addition of two key studs at the setter position completely changed the forecast over the last six months. All-American Lindsay Fletemeier is the player all elite teams need to carry the heavy freight against a ranked foe.
There are only three significant issues that might de-rail things. First is over-confidence. We don’t believe that will happen. While UD enjoys a preseason national ranking, UD and the A10 remains a program and league that suffers from a lack of credibility more than being cast as over-rated. Dayton will remain hungry all season and want to prove they can beat the big dogs of the volleyball world.
That leaves two what-ifs.
Can Dayton win the battle at the net on offense against Top-15 clubs? In years past, the Flyers were bumped from marquee matchups and stopped from advancing in the NCAA tournament due to opposing teams throwing a dominating defense at UD’s outside hitters. Dayton must win that war of attrition in 2010 and remain unpredictable enough to exploit quality defenses in front of the net.
The only other stumbling block is mental. Dayton volleyball created separation in five-set thrillers because of mental toughness and a greater-than-the-sum-of-the-parts attitude when every point counted. Winning against the elite programs is tough enough, but pulling out matches in dramatic five-set fashion against the likes of Minnesota or Illinois is not the winning recipe. Dayton must get out of the gate early and steer the important matches. If they do that, and somehow transpose the toughness they always seem to show in the fifth set to the first three or four sets, the Flyers will find themselves surprising not only themselves, but the national volleyball community.
This team has a lot to play for, in heaven and on earth. They know they are good. It’s just a matter of going out and proving it.
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