The Saint Louis University volleyball team reached the 20-win plateau for the second consecutive season over the weekend by posting wins over the Alabama-Birmingham and Memphis.
SLU coach Marilyn Nolen also picked up her 750th victory with the win over Memphis.
SLU is third in their division with a conference record of 8-3 and 21-4 overall.
The Memphis Tigers came out fired up and took the first set in solid fashion with a 15-7 victory.
However, that was the only victory they posted during the match. The Billikens took three straight sets to win the match, 15-4, 15-5 and 15-7.
Senior middle hitter Laura Risley came up big yet again for the Bills with 19 kills.
Sophomore middle hitter Cristal Leonard was impressive with 15 kills of her own and eight digs. Freshman middle hitter Colleen Hunter added 12 kills, 9 digs, 2 assists and a service ace.
Leading the team in assists was sophomore setter Beth Martin with 43.
Martin also had 11 digs. Freshman setter Beth Middendorf had seven assists and one dig in limited action.
After taming the Tigers, the Bills returned home to slay the UAB Blazers.
UAB ventured into Bauman-Eberhardt with a single win and nine losses in C-USA play.
SLU made quick work of the Blazers taking the match in straight sets 15-2, 15-8 and 15-3.
Risley was her dominating self, leading the team in kills with 16 and adding a service ace and five digs. Hunter played well again with 10 kills, eight digs and a service ace of her own.
Junior outside hitter Jessica Moss bounced back with 11 kills and eight digs.
Martin led the team with 35 assists and 12 digs. Middendorf added another seven kills to her season total of 350.
With a four-game winning streak and lots of momentum, the Billikens sail into some of the most hostile waters of the season. Louisville and Cincinnati are next on the Billikens hit list.
Head coach Marilyn Nolen said, “This weekend is big. Both teams are ranked ahead of us in NCAA districts.”
Louisville is a changed team since they limped into St. Louis a month ago. Their overall record of 11-9 is not stellar, but they have turned it on during conference play, posting an 8-2 record.
Nolen said of Louisville’s transformation, “Their chemistry has improved. They’ll be a much stronger team than the one we played earlier.”
Cincinnati also poses a tough challenge. The Bearcats rest atop the American Division of C-USA with an 8-2 record and a 19-4 overall record.
The Bearcats chewed the Bills up and spit them out during their last visit to Saint Louis.
Nolen is looking forward to a rematch,
“They played especially well, and we didn’t. We need these wins for seeding in the Conference USA tournament.”
