This weekend, the BIllikens will be reminded of a constant thorn in their side: the Louisville Cardinals.
Last year, the Cardinals eliminated the Bills from the Conference USA Tournament, but Friday, the Bills will look to avenge the loss.
The Saint Louis University Volleyball team is in the midst of a 16-8 season with a 7-3 Conference USA record; one of the best starts in recent team history. But prior games and recent history will not matter at all when the Billikens tangle with two of the conference’s elite this weekend.
The Bills are set to square off against C-USA powers Louisville, on Friday night, and Cincinnati, on Saturday night, in what will surely be two highly contested matches, with huge C-USA implications. The Louisville Cardinals sit atop the conference standings with an unblemished 7-0 record in C-USA, as well as boasting an 18-3 record overall. The Bearcats of Cincinnati are just a game behind, with a 6-1 conference record and a 15-6 overall record.
“We know these will be tough matches for our girls to win, but at the same time we have been practicing and preparing for them and we’ll be ready to face them and give them a tough game,” said coach Marilyn Nolen.
The Cardinals lead the league in nearly every offensive category, including hitting percentage, kills and assists. They are also second in the league in blocks and opponents hitting percentage. The Bills will have their work cut out for them, both offensively and defensively.
“Louisville is going to be a tough match, but if we bring our best game then we’ll be able pull a win out,” Nolen said.
As if playing the Cardinals were not bad enough, the Bills will then cross the Ohio River on Saturday and play the Bearcats, who, despite having six losses to their credit, own the second spot in the conference standings thanks to their stellar conference play. “These are both winnable games for us. We know what we have to do and how we have to play and we are more than capable of beating both Louisville and Cincinnati,” Nolen said.
Last Saturday the Bills rallied back from a one-game deficit to defeat DePaul 3-1. The Bills were paced by seniors Brooke Minniear, who had 16 kills and 14 digs, Ember Knobeloch, who had 11 kills, and Colleen Hunter, who added 19 kills. Hunter also registered the 500th block of her career against the Blue Demons, which makes her the first woman in C-USA history to register 1,500 kills, 1,000 digs and 500 blocks.
Playing from behind was not a new place for the Bills, as they have had more than their share of come-from-behind wins and five-game wins this season. Still there were quite a few tense moments for the team, especially after they were dominated by the Blue Demons the entire first game and ended up losing it by 14 points.
“We need to figure out how to come out strong from the beginning,” Nolen said.
The Bills beat Marquette last Friday night in another impressive showing. They started out by splitting the first two games with the Golden Eagles, but stormed back to take the final two games 30-27 and 31-29.
