Ever wonder what it takes to be a killer? Just ask Colleen Hunter who has a total of 2,105 kills in her career.
This week, Hunter received Conference USA Volleyball Co-Player of the Week. This is the second time Saint Louis University’s 6’1″ middle hitter has been given the award this season, and it is the third year in a row she has received it twice in one season.
“[Being recognized] is really exciting. It’s a great accomplishment,” Hunter said. “It’s nice after coming off two big wins.”
Hunter became the first in conference history to accumulate 1,500 kills, 1,000 digs and 500 blocks in her career. This year Hunter has been working on her strength training by doing more weight lifting in order to perform at a higher level. For the rest of the season she has been concentrating on blocks.
“We have a tall team for our conference,” said Hunter. “We are looking to use that more in the rest of the season.”
Hunter’s goals for the rest of the season include winning the rest of their conference games. “We are playing two big teams; if we win those it would be huge,” Hunter said. The two important games for the Billikens are this Friday against Louisville, who is ranked first in the conference, and Saturday against Cincinnati, who is also ranked ahead of SLU.
Hunter’s favorite moment in Billiken volleyball is their win over Houston this year.
“This is the first time since I have been here that we have beaten them,” Hunter said.
During that game Hunter had a triple-double, with 30 kills, 15 digs and 10 blocks. That game also made her the third person in conference history to have 2,000 kills in a career. Hunter is waiting until the season is over to put her final say about which moment is her favorite.
“I want us to win the conference tournament. That would be my favorite moment,” she said.
After she finishes this season for SLU, she hopes to play for a U.S. Pro Volleyball team. Last June Hunter tried out for the team in Chicago, but she won’t know if she made it until her career at SLU is over.
Hunter has been a strong asset to the team since she started playing. Her freshman year she was named to the C-USA All-Freshman team. Her sophomore year she was selected first-team All-Conference USA and All-Region. She was chosen for second team Verizon Academic All-District and was also selected AVCA National Division I Player of the Week on Oct. 15. She was also C-USA Player of the Week twice. During her junior year she was selected first-team All-Conference USA and All-Region, the second season in a row for her. She was also once again selected C-USA Player of the Week twice.
Hunter this season has a total of 508 kills, averaging about 5.8 a game, and keeping a hitting percentage of .324. She has 34 sets averaging .36 a game and boasts 250 digs, averaging 2.66 a game. Defensively, Hunter contributes has 133 blocks, averaging 1.41 a game. In her career at SLU Hunter has 2,105 kills, 1,011 digs and 500 blocks.
These last games are important to the Bills. They have two more home games this season on Nov. 8 against East Carolina and Nov. 9 against Charlotte.
“We want more people to come to our games,” Hunter said. “The team as a whole is the best since I’ve been here. The more support we get the better.”
