Last weekend, the Saint Louis University men’s volleyball club team took home the squad’s first Midwest Collegiate Volleyball Association conference tournament championship.

The team defeated Augustana College 25-22, 25-21 to win the title.

The Billikens got past the Illinois-Chicago Flames in the semifinals to reach the championship match.

SLU used good passing and stellar blocking to run through the tourney.

“We started passing the ball better,” said Will Hand. “Our blocking was what won the match for us.”

SLU went 6-0 in the tournament, losing only one set throughout the tourney.

The Bills were the No. 1-seeded team in the field of 14 teams.

With the tourney win, the Billikens qualified for the national club tournament in Reno, Nev. SLU is ranked eighth out of the 64 teams participating.

“We don’t know what the other teams are like,” said team captain Brian Black. “Teams that have been there expect us to finish in the top 10.”

SLU will start pool play in the tournament today. The event will conclude on Saturday.

Pool play will be the format in the first round. After that, the first place teams in the groups will battle it out in a separate pool to determine the champion.