KINGSTON, R.I.—Second-seeded Dayton won a five-set semifinal thriller 3-2 (25-27, 25-23, 25-17, 24-26, 19-17) over No. 3 Saint Louis to reach the Atlantic 10 Volleyball Championship final Saturday at Keaney Gymnasium.
The Flyers (21-8) will face top-seeded VCU for the A-10 title Sunday. The winner will earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. First serve is set for 2:00 pm.
This will be Dayton’s sixth straight appearance in the A-10 championship final. The Flyers have played in 16 of 17 Atlantic 10 finals since 2002, with 2013 being the only year UD lost in the semifinals in that stretch. The Flyers have won four of the last five Atlantic 10 titles, with the only loss coming against VCU in 2017.
A tightly-contested match, the long-time conference volleyball rivals needed five sets to decide the winner. Saint Louis’ early advantage in the fifth came off four straight points that opened up a one-point game and gave the Billikens a 10-5 lead on blocks from Sara Daniels and Maya Taylor. However, kills from Jamie Peterson and Alli Papesh and a Maura Collins ace rallied the Flyers to within two, and the teams battled from there, each having multiple chances with match point. Dayton finally won 19-17 to claim the match.
A thrilling set one began with Dayton jumping out to a 9-4 lead on a kill by Jamie Peterson followed by a pair of SLU errors that gave the Flyers the five-point advantage. The Billikens battled back and made a 5-1 run capped by a Maya Taylor kill that tied the match at 19. From there, the teams traded points until a kill by Sien Gallop and an ace from Juliana Phillips gave Saint Louis a 27-25 win.
Dayton scored six straight early in the second set to take a 7-3 lead, but Saint Louis quickly rallied and tied the game at nine. From there to the end of the set, neither team had more than a three-point lead. A block by Peterson and Olivia Dubey gave Dayton a 24-22 lead, and after Gallop got a kill to pull the Billikens back within one, Peterson evened the match with a set-ending kill for a 25-23 win.
The Flyers’ tendency toward hot starts continued in the third set, running off nine straight points for a 12-2 lead on a Jamie Peterson kill. Dayton held that advantage for the remainder of the set, taking a 2-1 match lead on two SLU errors that made the final set score 25-17.
It was Saint Louis’ turn for a hot start in the fourth set, as the Billikens (17-12) got a pair of kills from Gallop to jump out to a 4-0 lead. Dayton fought back and tied it at 11 on a Peterson kill. From there it was again a back-and-forth affair until a kill by Gallop and a Dayton error gave SLU a 26-24 win and forced the decisive fifth set.
Peterson had a 22-kill, 15-dig double-double and Papesh had 16 kills to lead Dayton. Josie Vondran added 10 kills and 26 assists.
Taylor registered 19 kills while hitting .298 and Gallop tallied 17 kills and 19 digs to lead the Billikens. Juliana Phillips also had 13 kills and Kennedy Cordia recorded a match-high 55 assists and 16 digs. Emily Imo led all players with 29 digs.