DAYTON, OH --- The Xavier volleyball team made history tonight, advancing to the finals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament for the first time in school history. The Musketeers defeated second-seeded Temple in four games (15-10, 13-15, 15-11, 15-2).

Xavier jumped out to a 10-6 lead in game one, thanks to a very balanced attack. XU's 25 kills in game one were almost evenly distributed among the six starters. The Owls battled back in the first game, but costly mistakes hurt them. XU won 15-10.

In game two, Xavier did not lead until 10-9. In a very close game, Temple racked up four straight points behind Maria Vutskova's hitting and never looked back. Brandy Best aced the Musketeers for the final point. The Owls won 15-13.

Game three was the closest of all the games, although the score would not indicate so. XU took a 7-4 lead behind the clutch hitting of Atlantic 10 Player-of-the-Year Sara Bachus (Cincinnati, OH/Seton). But Temple was not giving up. The Owls clawed their way back to 12-11 deficit before Bachus slammed home the final point. XU won 15-11.

The Musketeers went about game four in a very business-like manner, jumping out to a 6-0 lead. After that, it was all Katey Wygant (Papillion, NE/Papillion La Vista) and Anna Yasuhara (Lakewood, CA/St. Joseph). With the score 8-2, Yasuhara served up six straight points and Wygant had four kills and four blocks. Freshman All-Rookie honoree Kimberly Cockerel (Louisville, KY/Assumption) blocked an Alma Kovaci attack for the win. XU won 15-2.

Several Xavier players set or tied career-highs in the win. All-Conference selection Jill Hampton (Ft. Mitchell, KY/Notre Dame Academy) tallied 28 digs (career-high) and 18 kills. Bachus tied a career-high 23 digs while leading the team with 21 kills. Senior co-captain Gina Geraci (Edgewood, KY/Notre Dame) banged out 16 kills (career-high) and 19 digs. And Katey Wygant tied a career high with 18 kills. In addition, co-captain Tami Ores (Pontiac, IL/Pontiac Township) set a new season-high 70 assists.

This was the third time this season Xavier has faced Temple. XU has now won the last two. It marks the first time in four years that Temple has not won the A-10 Tournament.

Xavier will play top-seeded George Washington in the Atlantic 10 Championship finals Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Dayton's Frericks Center. The winner will get an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

Xavier Musketeers Women's Volleyball

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