DAYTON, Ohio— George Washington advanced to its first A-10 Volleyball Championship Final since 2002, beating third-seeded Saint Louis 3-0 Saturday night at the University of Dayton’s Frericks Center. The second-seeded Colonials will face No. 1 Dayton, who won the first semifinal 3-1 over No. 5 VCU.

The A-10 final will be played at 2:00 pm the Frericks Center with the winner earning the Atlantic 10’s automatic bid to the NCAA Volleyball Championship.

George Washington improved to 22-7. A one-time fixture in the A-10 volleyball finals for years, the Colonials will be be trying to win their first A-10 title since 2000.

It was only the second time all season Saint Louis was swept in a match. Alabama also beat the Billikens 3-0 in the first match of the season. The Billikens finish at 21-10, their best record since 2009.

Saint Louis jumped out to a seven-point lead to start set one when Meredith Boe and Lauren Leverenz combined to block a GW attack and make the score 10-3. But the Colonials chipped away at the SLU lead and eventually tied the set at 17 on a kill by Loren Williams. George Washington then reeled off six of the next seven points, spurred by Danielle Rygelski and Taylor Paulson, each with a pair of kills. But the Bills responded with a 5-0 run of their own the tied the set at 23. GW’s Chidima Osuchukwu recorded a kill and along with Aaliya Davidson, a set-ending block to give the Colonials 1-0 match lead.

George Washington pulled ahead midway through the second set, taking a 17-10 lead on a block from Osuchukwu and Jordan Timmer. SLU got back within four on a number of occasions, including late in the match at 23-19 on a kill by Taylor Paulson, but Osuchukwu struck again with a kill and a block with Loren Williams to close out the set.

Set three was neck-and-neck the entire way and was tied at 22 following a kill from SLU’s Megan Gilbert. But GW scored the final three points of the set on a kill from Maggie Skjelbred, a Billken attack error and a match-ended block from Skjelbred and Landon Garvik.

Williams led the Colonials with 14 kills and a .370 hitting percentage and Osuchukwu had 11 kills  and hit .391. Timmer had 33 assists also. Maddy Doyle had 14 digs on the defensive end and Osuchukwu had seven blocks.

Paulson had 14 kills and .440 hitting percentage to lead Saint Louis. Lauren Leverenz hit a match-high .529 with 10 kills. Boe tallied 35 assists and Rygelski had 11 digs.