NEWS

Davidson’s Volleyball season came to a close in the A-10 semifinals.

SAINT LOUIS — Davidson volleyball’s magical season came to an end on Saturday evening, falling 3-0 to Dayton in the Atlantic 10 semifinals at Chafeitz Pavilion.

With the result, the Wildcats concluded their 2022 campaign with a 20-10 overall record, marking the most wins in a single season since 2002.

Dayton, who advanced to the league’s championship match tomorrow against Loyola Chicago, was steady at the net all night, swinging .287 while holding the Wildcats to a .158 attacking percentage.

Davidson controlled the pace through most of set one, leading by as many as four points, before the Flyers took their first lead of the day, 14-13. After falling behind 22-18, freshmen Emma Slusser and Kayla Davis shut down the Flyers with a block at the net, before Dayton closed out the set with three kills to win it, 25-19.

Dayton carried its momentum through the remainder of the match, swinging .350 in set two to win it 25-20, led by sophomore Alyssa Miller who connected on 10 kills from 16 swings (.562).

In the final frame, the ‘Cats settled the score early with a kill from senior Julia Black, and later took a 9-8 lead from one of Slusser’s 10 kills on the night. With the set tied at 20-all, Davidson had just one more strike left from Slusser as Dayton produced four kills down the stretch to clinch a berth into the championship match.

Bella Brady ended the night with 10 digs, putting her at 544 total digs this season and surpassing her 542 digs from the 2021 campaign, which was good for third-most digs all-time in a single season.

Slusser led the Wildcats offensively with her 10 kills, while also assisting on five blocks. At the net, Sola Omonije paced the ‘Cats with six kills on 10 swings (.600) and four total blocks. Isabel Decker also led Davidson with 12 digs, while recording six kills.