After dropping three of the last five games at home, the Saint Louis University volleyball team finally took advantage of their home court.
The Billikens (8-10 overall, 2-5 Conference USA) began their weekend with a close match with Conference USA rival DePaul (13-5, 4-2). The Billikens lost the match 4-1 (7-15, 15-8, 12-15, 6-15).
“DePaul and South Florida had the fastest defenses we’ve seen all season,” said Coach Nolen. “(DePaul) just got into a groove and played really well.”
The Billiken offense was dominated by Colleen Hunter, Jessica Moss and Brooke Minniear with 16, 14, and 11 kills, respectively. Defensively, Hunter added 12 digs. Moss, the team leader in digs, chipped in 13, and Minniear had a team high 15 digs. Setter Shannan Swiney contributed 11 digs and 45 assists.
The upswing for the Billikens began Sunday afternoon in a C-USA showdown with Marquette University. The Bills took their seventh win of the season (second C-USA win) over the Golden Eagles in just three games (15-8, 15-4, 15-8).
“We played really well against Marquette,” said Nolen. “We had better team function than I have seen us do lately.”
The Bills were led in kills by Hunter (16), as well as Ember Knobeloch (8), kills, and Moss (7) and Missy Werges (7).
The SLU defense was anchored by Minniear, who notched 10 kills for the team, and defensive specialist Dani Apted, who contributed nine digs. Moss and Hunter each added seven digs.
“We’re continuing to mature,” said Nolen. “We’re getting better at adjusting to different teams and responding well.”
The Bills finished off their home series Tuesday night with a close win over Eastern Illinois University.
The Bills lost the first game 11-15 and the second game 12-15. The third game went to SLU 15-1. The fourth game saw huge momentum swings in both directions, but in the end it was 17-15 Billikens. SLU finished off the Panthers for good in the fifth game, with a Minniear kill that ended the match at 15-8.
Moss contributed a double-double for the Bills with 10 kills and 19 digs. Knobeloch added 13 kills, and Minniear registered a team high 21 digs. Swiney reached a career-high 62 assists.
Hunter was virtually unstoppable; she had 38 kills and hit .463. Hunter crushed her career-high 30 kills, and broke the school record of 37 kills set in 1997 by Julie Tretten.
In a press release, Coach Nolen stated, “Colleen is our franchise player. Plus, to have 38 kills and only seven errors on 67 attempts is unbelievable. Setter Shannan Swiney did an outstanding job recognizing that Colleen was hot and setting her.”
The Billikens head to Southern Miss and Tulane before heading to Loyola Chicago Tuesday.
