Volleyball Opens Dayton Invite Action on Friday Against Rival Flyers

Friday, September 2

Dayton, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Dayton

Volleyball Opens Dayton Invite Action on Friday Against Rival Flyers

08.31.16 | Volleyball

Tournament Central

Musketeers will also face Chattanooga and Northwestern during tournament play

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier volleyball travels to the Dayton Invitational on Sept. 2-3. The two-day tournament will be played at the Frericks Center on the campus of the University of Dayton.

The Musketeers (2-1) will face a challenging schedule this weekend as every opponent is undefeated on the year: Chattanooga (3-0), Dayton (4-0) and Northwestern (4-0).

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Date/Opponent	Time	Live Stats	Watch Live
Friday, Sept. 2 at Dayton	7 p.m.	Live Stats	Watch Live
Saturday, Sept. 3 vs Chattanooga	10:30 a.m.	Live Stats	N/A
Saturday, Sept. 3 vs Northwestern	4 p.m.	Live Stats	N/A

ABOUT DAYTON

Match Info: Friday, Sept. 2 – 7 p.m.
2016 Record: 4-0
2015 Postseason: NCAA Second Round

Notable:
• The Flyers are 4-0 on the year, having only dropped two sets all season. Dayton most recently defeated Miami (OH), 3-1, in its home opener on Aug. 30.
• Junior Amber Erhahon was named the A-10 Player of the Week, while sophomore Margo Wolf was tabbed co-defensive player of the week. Erhahon leads the team in kills (3.79 k/s) and hitting percentage (.552).
• Xavier trails the all-time series with Dayton, 52-25. A Xavier win on Friday would snap a six-game losing streak in the series.
• The Musketeers last win over Dayton was in four sets on Nov. 4, 2011 at Cintas Center. Xavier's last road win in the series history was a 3-0 victory on Oct. 3, 2000.

XU-DAYTON CONNECTION

• Xavier head coach Christy Pfeffenberger played collegiately at Dayton from 2000-04, where she participated in two NCAA Tournaments and was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year in 2004. She was also tabbed an AVCA All-American in 2004 and was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-American Third Team.
• Pfeffenberger will be facing her old head coach, Tim Horsmon, on Friday night. He is in the third year of his second stint as the Dayton coach, having previously coached the Flyers from 2003-07.

ABOUT CHATTANOOGA

Match Info: Saturday, Sept. 3 – 10:30 a.m.
2016 Record: 4-0

Notable:
• Chattanooga is 4-0 on the year having won its season-opening tournament, the Chattanooga Classic. The Mocs have not lost a set this season.
• The Mocs posted a 26-6 (13-3 SoCon) record last year and captured their first conference title since 1998.
• Chattanooga had two players in Allie Davenport and Kristy Wieser named to the preseason all-conference team. The duo has combined to 64 kills this season, while Wieser has posted a team-leading .439 hitting percentage.
• Xavier leads the all-time series with the Mocs, 2-0. Saturday's meeting will be the first since Aug. 28, 2010 when the two schools faced each other at the Comcast Lady Vol Classic.

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN

Match Info: Saturday, Sept. 3 - 4 p.m.
2016 Record: 3-0

Notable:
• Northwestern is 3-0 on the year after capturing the Cavalier Classic hosted by the University of Virginia. The Wildcats have only lost one set this season.
• The Wildcats are led by first-year head coach Shane Davis. He was previously the Loyola men's volleyball coach for 12 years, guiding the Ramblers to back-to-back NCAA Titles in 2014 and 2015.
• Symone Abbott leads the team in kills (5.50 k/s) and hitting percentage (.460). As a team, the Wildcats have posted a .380 hitting percentage this season.
• The meeting against Northwestern will be the first in school history. The Musketeers will also be facing their second of three Big Ten opponents this year when they take on the Wildcats.

ILLINI CLASSIC NOTES

• The Musketeers hit .329 in the win over Arkansas, posting their highest hitting percentage since defeating Georgetown on Oct. 16, 2015 (.477 hitting percentage). All told, Xavier finished the weekend with a .264 hitting percentage.

• Sophomore Meredith Klare totaled a team-high 52 digs last weekend, averaging 4.00 digs per set. The libero posted the match high in digs in all three matches.

• Alexis Newsome hit .528 on the week, while adding 31 kills. After one week of play, her hitting percentage ranks 15th nationally. The middle blocker also led the team in blocks as she averaged 0.85 blocks per set.

• Sophomore Alexis Newsome recorded a career-high 15 kills with no errors in 19 attempts at No. 14 Illinois. The middle blocker posted a .789 hitting percentage that would have established a new school record, but she fell one attempt short of the statistical minimum.

• Sofia Peterson recorded a career-high 17 kills in the five-set win over Missouri State. The senior hit .244 over the weekend with 31 total kills. She also added nine blocks.

• Mackenzi Humm led the team in assists, averaging 6.15 assists per set. Fellow setter McKena Estes added 5.15 assists per set.

• Xavier moved to 22-12 in season openers - dating back to the 1981 season - with the win over Missouri State. The Musketeers have now won five of their last six season openers, including three in a row.

BESSLER - BIG EAST HONORS

• Abbey Bessler was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week after posting 4.38 kills and 2.69 digs per set at the Illini Classic. The outside hitter had a double-double in all three matches, increasing her career total to 55. She has now earned the weekly award three times in her career.

• The reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year posted a .442 hitting percentage with 22 kills in the Musketeers' tournament finale against Arkansas. She has posted 20 or more kills in a match 19 times during her career.

• Abbey Bessler was also named the BIG EAST Player of the Week on Monday, earning the award for the third time in her career.

CAREER RECORD WATCH: BESSLER

• Abbey Bessler ranks sixth all-time at Xavier in kills (1,366), second in attack attempts (3,987) and third in total points (1,552). She is currently 55 digs away from cracking into the top-10 list for digs.

NCAA STATS

• After one week of play, the Musketeers rank 12th nationally in team assists (175) and team kills (188). Xavier also ranks 28th in kills per set (14.46 k/s) and 30th in assists per set (13.46).

UP NEXT

• Xavier returns to action at Miami (OH) on Sept.6. The match is slated to start at 6 p.m.

THE SCHEDULE

• Xavier plays its first 13 matches on the road, with 12 matches played in a tournament.

• Xavier faces eight teams that participated in the 2015 NCAA Tournament, including a Kansas squad that advanced to the Final Four. Fifteen of the Musketeers 22 opponents posted a winning record last year.

• The Musketeers' 22 opponents combined to post a 401-295 record last season with a .576 winning percentage. Xavier's opponents averaged 18 wins per game a year ago.

• Xavier will face teams from seven different conferences this year, including three Big Ten foes and two SEC squads.

• Xavier will face three teams for the first time in program history this fall: Missouri State, Northwestern and Southeastern Louisiana.

ABOUT THE TEAM

• The Musketeers return 13 letterwinners from last season, including three of their top point scorers in Abbey Bessler, Kristen Massa and Sofia Peterson.

• The Musketeers return three All-BIG EAST Performers in Abbey Bessler (1st Team), Kristen Massa (1st Team) and Sofia Peterson (2nd Team). Bessler earned first team honors for the third straight year, while Massa and Peterson both earned the recognition for the first time in their careers.

• Abbey Bessler was also named the BIG EAST Player of the Year in the 2015. She also earned AVCA All-Regional honors for the third time in her career.

• Xavier posted an 18-12 (14-4 BIG EAST) record last season under the direction of first-year head coach Christy Pfeffenberger.

PRESEASON POLL

• The Musketeers were picked to finish third in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll as announced by the conference office on Aug. 3. The preseason poll and All-BIG EAST selections were voted on by the conference's 10 head coaches.

PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST

• Three Musketeers were selected to the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team in Abbey Bessler, Kristen Massa and Sofia Peterson. Xavier and Creighton were the only two teams with three players each on the preseason team.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• The Musketeers posted an 18-12 overall record last year, the team's 18th straight year with a .500 or above record.

• Xavier has posted a 38-14 record in BIG EAST play since joining the conference in 2013. The Musketeers have advanced to the conference tournament in all three seasons.

• Xavier players have earned AVCA All-American honors eight times in the last 11 years. Aubree Smith earned the honors last season, while Abbey Bessler picked up the recognition in 2013.