Dayton wins 15th A-10 volleyball tournament championship

No. 1 seed Dayton beat No. 6 seed Fordham 27-25, 25-13, 25-18 to win its fourth straight championship and 15th since 2004. It led throughout the first and third sets. The second set was tied at 25. Then Dayton scored the last two points.

Dayton earned the conference’s automatic NCAA tournament berth. The bracket will be announced at 8:30 p.m. Nov. 28 on ESPNU.

Dayton (25-5) will take a 19-match winning streak into the NCAA tournament.

Fordham (10-20) upset No. 2 seed VCU (18-12) on Saturday 25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23 on Saturday to reach the championship match for the first time. Fordham’s victory prevented VCU from getting another chance in the championship. VCU lost to Dayton in straight sets in the championship match in the spring season, which was postponed from the fall of 2020 because of the pandemic.

Dayton beat Duquesne 22-25, 19-25, 25-18, 25-23, 15-7 to survive in the semifinals. The Flyers overcame a 23-19 deficit in the fourth set. It was only the second time in Dayton’s 19-match winning streak it has gone five sets.

In the championship match, Jamie Peterson led the Flyers with 15 kills. She was named the most outstanding player in the tournament. Alayna Yates, who had eight kills, and Lexie Almodovar, who had six kills and 11 digs, also made the all-tournament team.