UD women battle back to capture A-10, NCAA volleyball bid

Cowdrey named most outstanding as Flyers advance to sixth tourney in seven years.

Kacie Hausfeld (14) and Rachael Broerman (10) jump for joy as teammates Anna Eytchison (5) and Lindsay Fletemier watch after the Flyers defeated St.Louis on Sunday to win the Atlantic 10 championship. Contributed photo by Erik Schelkun

Erik Schelkun/Contributing photographer Kacie Hausfeld (14) and Rachael Broerman (10) jump for joy as teammates Anna Eytchison (5) and Lindsay Fletemier watch after the Flyers defeated St.Louis on Sunday to win the Atlantic 10 championship. Contributed photo by Erik Schelkun

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By Debbie Juniewicz, Contributing Writer Updated 11:07 AM Monday, November 23, 2009

DAYTON — Dayton Flyers outside hitter Amanda Cowdrey loves nothing more than taking some swings in the sun, on the sand. But the Atlantic 10 Volleyball Championship proved to be anything but a day at the beach.

The Flyers, however, were able to dig out of a deep hole battling back to beat No. 20 Saint Louis 22-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-15, 15-7 in front of a crowd of 727 at the Frericks Center Sunday, Nov. 22. Dayton earned its fifth A-10 tournament title and an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. The Flyers will make their sixth trip to the NCAA Tournament in the past seven years.

Cowdrey, who represented Canada at the U-19 Beach World Championships, was named Most Outstanding Player of the A-10 tournament, much to the junior’s surprise.

“I’m a feel player, I’m not all about technique,” Cowdrey said. “But we all wanted this bad enough that we had to make it happen.”

While Cowdrey was surprised by her A-10 honor, Saint Louis coach Anne Kordes was not. It wasn’t simply the 15 kills, 25 digs or three aces that were impressive.

“It was such an amazing performance by Amanda. That kid just wills her team to win,” Kordes said.

The Flyers needed more than will as they trailed  2-0 at the break. While the teams had 10 minutes in between the second and third sets, Flyers coach Kelly Sheffield wasted little time getting his players back onto the court.

“There wasn’t a lot to say ‘we haven’t played well, it’s as easy as that,’” Sheffield said. “But this team has a lot of fight and a lot of will. And the people were going to leave here after seeing a match they’ll never forget.”

Sheffield was true to his word as the Flyers junior middle blocker Lindsay Fletemier, also picked for the All-Tournament Team, sparked the Dayton offense with seven third-set kills.

Fletemier and Cowdrey posted a combined nine kills in the fourth set. In the final set, Dayton maintained its momentum as the Flyers jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never trailed.

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