Record Crowd Watches Women’s Volleyball Take Down 14th-Ranked Michigan At Flyer Invitational

Kaitlin Lewis    
Contributing Writer

The Dayton Volleyball team got its home season off to an exciting start on Sept. 6 at night one of the Dayton Invitational. The Flyers beat down the Northern Illinois Huskies (2-6) 3-0, swinging at a season-high of .431. Redshirt sophomore Jamie Peterson had the match-high of 14 kills. Dayton is now undefeated in the last three match-ups against NIU. 

The Flyers ended their first night in a 1-3 loss against the Missouri Tigers (4-0). Despite the final score, Peterson was still top of her game with a team-high 18 kills against Mizzou. Sophomore Alli Papesh had her own victory as well, serving four aces for her new career-high. 

The big victory for the Flyers, however, came Saturday night against the 14th-ranked Michigan Wolverines (4-2). Not only did Dayton fight a tough match-up winning 3-2, it was also in front of a record-breaking crowd at the Frericks Center, with 2,641 in attendance. Peterson showed up again for the Flyers with a career-high 27 kills and 10 digs, the match’s only double-double on the night. Papesh also proved essential with her own career-high of 18 kills against the Wolverines. 

After her incredible weekend performance, Peterson was named A10’s Player of the Week on September 9. She and the rest of the Flyers will continue their season at the Missouri State Invitational on September 13 where they will face host Missouri State (2-5), as well as Kansas State (4-2) and Southern Methodist (4-1). 

Cover photo taken by Erik Schelkun, Elsestar Images