Splits haven’t looked this good since Shannon Miller in the 1996 Olympic Games.
Last weekend, the Saint Louis University Volleyball team faced their stiffest matches of the year, upsetting Conference USA leader Louisville but falling to Cincinnati.
Friday night, the Bills snapped the league leader, Louisville’s nine-game winning streak in an upset in front of a loud Cardinal crowd.
But the Bills were able to overcome an opening game 11-point loss, and come back to win the next three games and take the match from the Cardinals.
“It was a very exciting match, and it was about the best we have played as a team this year. It was a very big win and it was a much needed win on top of that,” said coach Marilyn Nolen.
It was a must-win for the Bills because earlier this season they were upset by UAB, which dropped them to fourth in the conference; two losses behind the elite conference powers of South Florida, Cincinnati and Louisville.
Colleen Hunter had 25 kills and seven blocks while Ember Knobeloch added 14 kills in the upset. Ashley Hunter set a career high with six blocks as well as adding 12 kills, and Lauren Boissevain also set a career high with 30 assists.
Brooke Minniear and Jess Kmitta, who led the defense, each contributed 14 and 10 kills respectively.
The Bills, however, could not take the momentum gained from knocking off the league’s top team into the next day’s match against Cincinnati and lost 3-0.
“We started out poorly, but started to play better as the match went on. But our performance just wasn’t strong enough. We just didn’t get it done. The team was extremely unhappy with their performance, so we just have to take it as one more learning experience,” Nolen said.
Ashley Hunter and Colleen Hunter led the Bills offense with nine kills apiece. The game ended Colleen Hunter’s 47-match streak of 10 or more kills.
The Bills were out-gunned by the Bearcats hitting power. The Bearcats had three girls in double digits in the kill column. Cincinnati had a respectable .271 hitting percentage while holding the Bills to a paltry .071.
This weekend, the Bills will host their final two home games of the season, against East Carolina on Friday night and UNC-Charlotte on Saturday night.East Carolina is fighting for a spot in the C-USA tournament and the game against the Bills is a must-win for them if they hope to accomplish that.
“We need to play really well against East Carolina. They are a solid team and there is no such thing as a sure win in C-USA,” Nolen said.
Charlotte has pulled several key upsets and is looking to score one more on Saturday. They have strong middle hitters and two strong outside hitters.
“We don’t expect a cakewalk at all,” Nolen said. “We’re in a position right now where we know we are a contender for the tournament title. We can’t lose.”
