The University of Dayton women's club volleyball team is the No. 1 team in the nation after their top-five finish last April at the Collegiate Club Volleyball National Tournament in Houston.

The National Club Volleyball Federation ranked Dayton No. 1 in its Mizuno women's rankings on Jan. 17. With six seniors on the team this year, senior middle blocker and team president Calli Roberts said communication and teamwork are what separates the UD squad from everyone else.

"I think that the camaraderie we have on the court is incomparable to any other team," said Roberts, a public relations and marketing major. "Half of our team is seniors and we only have one freshman on the team, so we are an experienced group."

That one freshman is setter Allie McKenna, a pre-physical therapy major. McKenna said she was nervous coming in as the youngest player and wanted to prove herself. She said the older players accepted her right away.

"I definitely try to do what they do," McKenna said. "I especially watch [starting senior setter] Meghan [Cugliarli] because I want to have her job in two years. Everyone was very welcoming to me when I came in so that helped a lot."

The Flyers are 16-0 so far this season with four tournament championships. Roberts said UD normally plays in about three to four tournaments every semester, including a Flyer Invitational every semester. This spring, the home tournament takes place Feb. 4.

The team has tournaments at home, at Ohio State University and at Marquette University lined up for this semester.

UD head coach Andy Hill, a senior entrepreneurship major, said that he has seen the team become a cohesive unit throughout this year, but that there is always room to get better.

"The team has definitely 'gelled' more because they've had a year of experience together already under their belt, and we really switched up our offense and how we go about our defensive schematics," said Hill, who is in his first year coaching the A-team after coaching the B-team last year. "We have a really good mix of height and speed, and when that's mixed with personality, it's fun to watch and coach them."

According to libero Stephanie Demos, a senior marketing major, the team participates in fundraisers to pay for their tournament fees, and a lot of the players are friends on and off the court.

"We have team events and pasta parties before our tournaments, stuff like that really helps us bond as a team," she said.

While the team is very competitive, the players also have fun playing, according to outside hitter Alysa Birdsall, an sophomore international studies major.

She said in high school, volleyball became more of a job than a game, but on the club team, it's still fun, competitive, and a great environment.

Cugliari, an early childhood education major, said that the enjoyable atmosphere doesn't detract the team from achieving its goals.

"From our first practice, we've had one goal: To win the national championship," Cugliari said. "That really allowed us to keep a structure within the team in order to maintain intensity to get that goal, and we can keep it fun at the same time."

The Flyers have never been ranked higher than 10th place before the national tournament, which takes place April 5-7 this year in Kansas City, Mo.



University of Dayton club volleyball players go up for the ball during a team practice, Tuesday, Jan. 24, at the RecPlex. The UD club team is the highest-ranked club volleyball team in the nation.