PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Highlighted by a pair of 20-plus kill performances, top-seeded Dayton showcased a formidable resiliency throughout the team's the Atlantic 10 Women's Volleyball Championship semifinals clash against No. 5 Duquesne, initially falling behind by a two-set deficit before recovering down the stretch for the eventual 3-2 victory Saturday afternoon at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

With the victory, Dayton (24-5) progresses to the program's 18th-ever A-10 Women's Volleyball Championship final, battling the winner between second-seeded VCU and No. 6 Fordham at 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 21. The contest will be broadcast live via ESPN+.

Despite the seeding differential, the Dukes (13-16) initiated the contest with the energy and aggressiveness of the higher-ranked squad, hitting .250 and .429, respectively, with a combined 34 kills across the opening two frames. The outgunned Flyers struggled to maintain pace, dropping the first set by a narrow three-point margin before watching Duquesne lock in the second at 25-19.

The match saw a shift in Dayton's favor midway through the third frame, as the Flyers surged offensively following an 8-8 tie, growing an advantage as large as seven before clinching the set. As the contest progressed into the fourth, Duquesne looked in command late before the Flyers rattled off five straight points to end the frame, topping the Dukes by a final 25-23 mark.

Following the back-and-forth action of the first four sets, the decisive fifth took a major about-face as Dayton exerted its will throughout, ending the threat to their title defense via a 15-7 rout.

On the final stat sheet, Duquesne senior Summer Slade proved the story of the contest even in spite of the loss, shouldering the Dukes behind new career-highs in both kills (27) and digs (23), good for a memorable double-double. Teammates Morgan Kelly and Hailey Poling notched notable outings as well, as the former racked up 19 kills while the latter earned a double-double with a match-best 56 assists and 18 digs.

Statistically, the Flyers concluded the contest headlined by Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Jamie Peterson and fellow First-Team All-Conference selection Lexie Almodovar, as the duo compiled a joint 47 kills and 47 digs in a lethal pair of double-doubles. A-10 Setter of the Year Livie Sandt tacked on a double-double of her own as well, registering 50 assists along with 11 digs in the win.