The secret is out. The men’s volleyball club team is for real.
In front of an impressive, Friday-night crowd inside the West Pine Gym the second-ranked Saint Louis University men’s club volleyball team defeated their arch-rival, the University of Missouri-Columbia in three straight games in a best-of-five-game match.
SLU, who improved their overall match record to 31-1, overpowered Missouri in the first game. They went on to make quick work of the Tigers 25-23, 25-19, 25-20.
“We didn’t make mistakes. When they were playing poorly we capitalized on their mistakes and we were able to put it to them and get the victory,” said sophomore outside-hitter Will Hand.
Missouri came out in the first game with a quick burst, putting them ahead by a four-point margin early. The Billikens had to climb back to correct their deficit. SLU, however, did just that and exchanged points with the Tigers throughout the game.
The game was tied 23-23 and the Billikens found themselves with their backs to the wall. Once again the Bills rose to the occasion by scoring two consecutive points; the final was on a side-out to win the first game.
“They (Missouri) came out to play. They scored early and forced us to come back.
“It was different getting used to a different environment. This was the first time we have played in front of our own fans. It was a good feeling to come out and get that first win. The second game we came out stronger and played better overall,” said junior outside-hitter Will Curran.
In the second game, the Billikens were the ones who jumped out to an early lead. Missouri had a counter attack of their own, but SLU’s defense was just too tough. The Bills ran away with the six-point win as well as a five-point victory in the third game.
“We believe we have a potent offense, so we wanted to come out and prove that we could play good defense as well. Our serves were getting in and we were stopping their middle attack. Our freshman played very well. Nate Hornung played his best game of the year, especially on the defensive side,” Hand said.
With Friday night’s victory, SLU justified their number 2 ranking in the Division-II NIRSA poll. Curran believes that beating Missouri means more than just another victory.
“We wanted to get one good team to come and play us at home. They (Mizzou) beat Illinois, who gave us our only loss. We just wanted to get the word out; I think we did. A lot of people didn’t know who we were. Now they know what we can do,” Curran said.
The victory was a credit to the effort of the entire team, according to Curran. He pointed out the key play of Hand, freshman outside hitter Pat Lodes, and senior setter Brian Black.
“With our talent we definitely could win it all. We are playing at a higher level than our opponents are. We are Division-II, but we are beating Division-I teams,” Curran said.
The Billikens are hoping their talent will carry them to the finals of the upcoming University of Illinois tournament and, ultimately, to the NIRSA National Championship in Kansas City, Mo. April 11-14.
“We have played some good teams. We hope to avenge our only loss when we play Illinois in their tournament. We know we can beat them.
“This upcoming tournament is important to us because they are all Division-I teams. We played well at the Michigan tournament. There we really turned some heads. We have a legitimate shot at doing well in Illinois and will hopefully perform at our best at nationals. Winning it all is our main goal,” Hand said.
SLU already has a few trophies in the case, with a championship at the DePaul Tournament in January and a third-place finish at the University of Michigan Tournament. But with the key home victory against the Tigers of Ol’ Mizzou, the SLU men’s volleyball club has revealed their secret: They are for real-and they are good.
