Dorothy was on to something.
For the Saint Louis University women’s volleyball team there really is no place like home.
This past weekend, the Billikens wrapped up their home schedule in convincing fashion, dropping East Carolina three games to none in the Friday night contest, and then rallying to defeat UNC-Charlotte three games to one for Senior Night on Saturday.
“We knew that we should win both of these matches. We came out a little sluggish again but we were clearly the better team,” said coach Marilyn Nolen.
The wins capped an undefeated conference home season for the Billikens, giving them a record of 6-0. The win also propelled the Bills to a first-round bye in the upcoming Conference USA Tournament in Chicago.
“That bye is so big for us. It sets us up really well for the tournament,” Nolen said.
Against East Carolina, the Billikens had an astounding .327 hitting percentage, compared to ECU’s paltry .064 hitting percentage.
The Bills were led by Brooke Minniear, who came up with 16 digs, and Colleen Hunter and Ashley Hunter who each had 13 kills.
The match was out-of-reach early for ECU, as the Bills walked all over them for a 30-13 win in the first game. The next two games were closer, but never in doubt, as the Bills took them 30-21 and 30-26 respectively.
“We played quite well Friday night. We didn’t make many mistakes,” Nolen said.
Saturday night, with the aura of Senior Night as a fitting backdrop, the five Bills seniors, Minniear, Colleen Hunter, Beth Middendorf, Ember Knobeloch and Missy Werges led the Bills to an emotional win to close out their careers on their own home floor.
Hunter led the team in kills with 18, while Middendorf led in assists with 29.
Brooke Minniear continued her dominance on defense, picking up 21 digs.
Knobeloch led the team in blocks with two, and added 10 kills while Werges added eight kills and 12 digs.
“There was a lot of emotion here for senior night and you could see it on the court. These seniors are going to leave a strong legacy,” Nolen said.
The two wins bring the Bills overall record to 19-9 and their conference record to 9-3 with one game left, down in Hattiesburg, Miss. against Southern Miss this Friday night.
Southern Miss is 14-13 overall and 5-6 in conference play. The Bills lead the all-time series 6-1.
“This is a big weekend coming up. Playing on the road is always tough and we would really like to be riding a winning streak into the conference tournament” Nolen said.
After this Friday’s game, the Bills will then set their sites on the Conference USA Tournament, where they will look to capitalize on their first-round bye and advance through the tournament.
“A win this week and a win in the first round of the tournament and we should be going to the NCAA tournament,” Nolen said.
But first things first, and that means that the Bills will be concentrating on this weekend before concerning themselves with the upcoming run for the conference crown.
