December is one of the most festive times of the year and that rings true for the UD volleyball team, which is now playing in the NCAA Tournament.

The Flyers, fresh off a 29-3 regular season, are playing in Champaign, Ill. in the first and second round matches hosted by 5 seed Illinois.

Dayton clinched a spot in the tournament a week and a half ago with its thrilling 3-2 victory over archrival Saint Louis in the A-10 Championship. The team then won their final regular season game over Thanksgiving break against Ohio University in another contest that went to a fifth set.

A key aspect that sets the No. 23 Flyers apart from the pack is their versatility on offense. Junior setter Kacie Hausfeld splits duties with freshman Hannah Clancy in orchestrating the Dayton offensive attack and knows all the different playmakers on the team.

A six-pack of Flyers receives the most playing time alongside the two setters on offense. That list includes juniors Lindsay Fletemier, Amanda Cowdrey, Becky Novacek and Tiffany Gaerke along with sophomore Anna Eytchison and redshirt freshman Rachel Krabacher.

When asked what makes this team different, coach Kelly Sheffield said, "The number one thing is that our size is very impressive. We have six different offensive weapons and we are not afraid to use them. We have an elite player in All-American Lindsay Fletemier at the net, but we are not just dependent upon her."

Thursday night's game matched UD against the Horizon League champions from Milwaukee. At just 16-14, the Panthers entered the NCAA Tournament with one of the worst records of the 64 teams vying for the national championship, but won their final 11 regular season contests.

Despite not having much time to prepare for the Panthers, coach Sheffield gave them all the praise for their impressive turnaround and conference championship.

"They are on a heck of a roll, have a lot of good volleyball players on their team, are resilient and competitive and they will definitely fight," he said.

The winner of the contest will then take on the victor between No. 8 Illinois and IPFW Friday night at 8 p.m. for a berth in the Sweet 16. UD has never advanced to the Sweet 16 in school history, but marked that as one of the key goals for this season.

"Towards the end of the season, we were just focusing on small goals at a time," Hausfeld said. "Now for us, we are focusing on just this weekend first. We are very prepared and we have shown a lot of intensity and enthusiasm."

One key to watch for the team will be the availability of redshirt freshman Rachel Krabacher, who totaled 16 kills and 16 digs in the championship victory over Saint Louis. She did not play against Ohio last week due to an ankle injury and already missed 16 matches earlier this season.

Whether she plays or not, the team remains confident about their chances for advancing well into the tournament.

"It is hard to play against a team like us because there is no glaring weakness and it is very hard to defend us against the net," junior outside hitter Amanda Cowdrey said.

The madness of December is in the air just like in March for the men's basketball tournament. With 64 teams playing in a span of four weeks, anything is possible and any team could become Cinderella practically overnight. For the Dayton volleyball team, that conquest begins this weekend as they look to make history.

"This is a resilient group, they just don't give up and they have a tremendous amount of fight in them," Sheffield said while also referencing their recent close victories. "They continue to communicate and listen to each other when their backs are against the wall."