"She is kind of like James Bond 007."

Those were the words Coach Kelly Sheffield chose to describe junior transfer Amanda Cowdrey.

"Her game has all the cool gadgets and whatever we need as a team, she can get for us," he said.

It is hard to argue with his analysis, as Cowdrey and the Flyers are sitting pretty on top of the Atlantic 10 standings after a smoking 23-3 start to the regular season. Cowdrey, a starting outside hitter and native of Brampton, Ontario, is in her first year at the University of Dayton after transferring from Albany University in the off-season.

Going back to her pre-collegiate days, Cowdrey was the athlete of the year at her secondary school as a junior and represented Canada at the under-19 Beach World Championships. The star recruit initially attended school at Albany to play under Coach Sheffield.

She had a stellar first year for the Great Danes in the America East Conference, leading the team with 3.47 kills per game and ranking second with 3.32 digs. She was a member of the conference tournament first-team and received the award of Conference Rookie of the Year.

Her Great Danes team even advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to national power Penn State. Following the season, Coach Sheffield left to lead the rising program at UD and Cowdrey joined him in the Midwest just a year later.

Upon the announcement of her transfer from Albany, Sheffield was ecstatic about the future possibilities of the program.

"Amanda is a great addition to our program. She's a volleyball junkie and would probably be the first one in the gym if we held a practice at 3 a.m.," he said in an official press release.

Cowdrey expressed many different reasons for her decision to transfer to UD. Citing the competitiveness within the volleyball program, the renovated Frericks Center, the quality of education and the smaller class sizes, she had a lot to say about the strengths of a Dayton education and volleyball experience.

She also stated how she enjoys the competitive nature of the Atlantic 10 conference in contrast to the seven-team America East. The 23-3 start to the season makes her feel like she made the right career decision as well.

"I honestly didn't expect this," she said of the record. "But this group of girls honestly makes it so much more amazing."

Playing alongside honorable mention All-American Lindsay Fletemier and company would be a thrill for any volleyball player. With Dayton, she has now taken a secondary role alongside middle blockers Fletemier, Anna Eytchison and others. After averaging over 3.2 kills per game in each of her two years with Albany, she is now taking the role as a distributor in the offensive schemes.

Through Friday's victory over Rhode Island, she ranked third on the team with 2.66 kills per set and second with 3.05 digs. In these 26 contests, she recorded a double -double in the two categories 12 times and was a part of the Dayton Classic All-Tournament team back in September.

Continuously stating how her volleyball IQ is off the charts, Sheffield loves to pour on the compliments about his new starter.

"She does it all, she is the best all-around player in the conference and she has complete game," he said. "She is also very mentally tough and loves playing in the big moments."

October was then a symbolic month for Cowdrey as she surpassed two notable collegiate volleyball achievements. She notched her 1,000th career kill in an upset victory over then-No. 20 Saint Louis Oct. 17.

Eight days later, she passed the 1,000 career digs mark against George Washington and became the fifth player in UD history to collect that many in each category.

Discussing the goals for the team and her personal goals for the rest of the season, she collected herself to describe all of her feelings. The team goal is to make it to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament after handling play in the conference. After that, she wants to "be as reliable as possible for the team and mentally focused on her passing skills."