After four straight loses, the Saint Louis University volleyball team finally began their awaited upswing. And their timing couldn’t have been better.
The Billikens (12-17 overall, 6-10 Conference USA) began their final series of regular season Conference USA showdowns on the road with a key victory at Marquette (8-21, 6-10).
“We’re young, and we’re getting better all the time,” said head coach Marilyn Nolen. “The team has so much ability and talent.”
The Billiken offense showed ability and talent all night. Colleen Hunter smashed a match-high 26 kills and also contributed six blocks and five digs. Ember Knobeloch hit a career-high 18 kills and hit .324.
Jessica Moss and Cristal Leonard both posted double-doubles to contribute to the SLU attack. Moss notched 10 kills and a match-high 19 digs, and Leonard chipped in 11 kills and 11 digs.
“We have our moments, we’re off and on,” said Nolen. “It’s been kind of frustrating this year, we’ve had so many close matches.”
The Billikens had a night full of moments in an incredibly close match against DePaul on Sunday.
The Billikens hoped to take their momentum found in Milwaukee with them on the trip to Chicago to face DePaul but dropped the game in five matches.
Despite hitting 31 kills against the Blue Demons, the Bills dropped the first match but found revenge in the second. The Billikens were on fire and held DePaul scoreless throughout the entire second match. The Bills continued to dominate in the third and hit .400 while pushing DePaul into a disappointing -.034 hitting percentage.
In the fourth game, the Bills began to lose momentum offensively and DePaul quickly picked up their tempo. The Blue Demons tied the match in the fourth game with a score of 15-12 and picked up the fifth match 15-10.
For the Billikens, Hunter drilled 25 kills and tied her career-high 19 digs, as well as adding eight blocks. Knobeloch broke her career high she had achieved earlier in the weekend by smashing 21 kills and also added five blocks.
Moss notched another double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs, while Missy Werges had a phenomenal night with 10 kills and a new career-high 17 digs. Leonard added 12 kills, and Beth Martin dished out 51 assists, as well as 12 digs and four blocks.
Today the Billikens will face Marquette for the third time this season. However, the stakes are higher this time.
Today begins the first round of play in the C-USA tournament, where the Bills are currently in the eighth seed, and the Golden Eagles have grabbed the number-nine spot.
“It’s hard to win against a team over and over again,” said Nolen. “We’ve got to do what we do well, we’ve got to play well against (Marquette’s) middle attack, we’ve got to keep our cool.”
According to Nolen, the Billiken lineup is incredibly stable, with Werges continuing to be a strong starter, in addition to Hunter, and Moss, who is still dealing with lingering foot problems.
Knobeloch is improving on a game to game basis and, with Hunter, provide a strong middle attack. The defense will be anchored by defensive specialist Dani Apted, who has continued to provide great leadership for the Bills.
The Billikens are heading into the first round of play strong, recovering quite well from what Nolen cites as a possible case of food poisoning that plagued the majority of the team.
The Billikens expect to have a strong showing against the Golden Eagles, who Nolen expects to be very well prepared for the match. The winner of today’s match will be launched into an incredible showdown with the number-one seed South Florida.
