RESULT
Saint Louis 3, La Salle 0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-20)
Sunday, Nov. 11 | St. Louis, Missouri (Chaifetz Pavilion)
THE BASICS
• Maya Taylor led the Saint Louis attack with a match-high 14 kills, and the Billikens clinched a berth in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-20) victory over La Salle Sunday afternoon on Senior Day at Chaifetz Pavilion.
• Seniors Jenny Backus, Katia Haak, Monica Loftus and Camila Rivas were honored prior to the match.
• Sara Daniels and Cayce Chaykowsky registered match bests of five blocks and 16 digs, respectively, as SLU (7-19, 6-8 A-10) collected a second consecutive three-set sweep.
• La Salle fell to 17-11, 9-5.
• The Billikens are the No. 5 seed in the A-10 Championship and will face No. 4 George Mason (10-14, 8-6) in a first-round match Friday, Nov. 16, at 1 p.m. (CST). The tournament will be played at VCU’s Siegel Center in Richmond, Virginia. George Mason defeated Saint Louis 3-2 in the teams’ regular-season match Sept. 22 in Fairfax, Virginia.
• No. 1 VCU and No. 2 Dayton received first-round byes. The SLU-George Mason winner meets VCU in the semifinals Saturday at 1 p.m. (CST), followed by Dayton vs. No. 3 La Salle or No. 6 Duquesne. The final is scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. (CT).
FIRST SET
Saint Louis used an 11-4 run to take a 14-6 lead, only to see La Salle go on a 9-0 spurt to surge in front 15-14. SLU answered with an 8-2 flurry to grab a 22-17 advantage, and the Billikens turned away the Explorers’ late challenge by scoring three of the last four points.
SECOND SET
This time it was the Explorers who established a sizable lead. La Salle was on top 14-8 before an 8-2 Saint Louis flurry evened the set at 16. Following two more ties, the Billikens outscored the Explorers 7-2 down the stretch.
THIRD SET
La Salle again built an early lead, this time 11-7. Saint Louis roared back by scoring six straight and 10 of 11 points for a 17-12 advantage. The Explorers whittled the margin to three, 22-19, but the Billikens tallied three of the final four points.
NOTABLE
• The Billikens hit .261 to La Salle’s .153. Maya Taylor (14-3-30, .367) and Isabelle Walsh (7-2-16, .312) led the way.
• Sien Gallop joined Chaykowsky in double figures with 10 digs.
• Katia Haak and Maya Taylor collected nine and eight digs, respectively, their season highs in a three-set match.
• Kennedy Cordia had a career-high three service aces to go with 37 assists.
• Sara Daniels notched a career-high five digs.
