The 1969 "Miracle Mets" were, at one point in the
season, over 20 games out of first place, and they came back to win
the World Series. So an 0-2 start is nothing in the grand scheme of
things, and it goes without saying that greatness is surely still
in the cards for the Saint Louis University volleyball team;
especially when considering that the team is on the cusp of a
winning streak, with two straight wins over William and Mary to
close out their season opening tournament, and Easter Illinois.

And the Billikens will take their momentum and their intra-state
superiority complex down state to square off in the Southwest
Missouri State Tournament, this weekend, in Springfield, Mo.

"This weekend we will definitely have some tough
competition. BYU, North Texas and Arkansas are good and SMS is
always tough, but I think we are going to surprise some
people," senior Alyson Merchant said.

The Bills will open the tourney tomorrow at noon against the
North Texas Mean Green, in the first of two games for the day.
North Texas is coming off of a big tournament win to open their
season down at the Lamar Invitational, where they beat Lehigh,
UT-Pan American and host Lamar en route to sweeping the tournament.
They feature an outside hitter, Jill Ruskowski, who was just named
Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week.

But Ruskowski will meet some stiff competition of her own, in
the likes of SLU’s own outside hitter, Ashley Hunter, and middle
hitter, Merchant, who recently relocated from her more comfortable
outside hitter position.

Hunter and Merchant have been serving and spiking the Bills to
victory in each of the last two matches and show no signs of
slowing.

The Bills will then take on host SMS, in the nightcap on Friday.
The Bears showcase a potent offense, which includes Erin Murphy and
Katie Werges, who each had 14 kills in their last match, against
Georgetown.

That match earned the Bears a third place finish in the George
Mason University Patriot Invitational, and their second win of the
year.

SLU will round out the tournament with another doubleheader on
Saturday against Arkansas and BYU.

The Billikens are coming off a solid sweep of Eastern Illinois
last Tuesday, on the backs of the solid efforts Merchant and
Hunter, as well as the incredible play of setter Erin McClanahan,
who registered the first double-double of the season for the Bills,
tallying up 41 assists and 11 digs.

The Bills took the series 30-24, 30-22 and held on for a 30-28
victory in the clinching game.

The SMS tournament this weekend will be the second tournament
the Bills have played in as many weekends. They also played in and
hosted a tournament last weekend, butting heads with the likes of
such powers as Purdue, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and William and
Mary.

In their opening match of the season, against Purdue, the Bills
came out strong, taking the first game 30-24.

But Purdue fought back in each of the final three games, holding
early leads, playing strong at the net and keeping the Billikens at
bay. The Boilers took the final three games of the match 30-18,
30-25 and, finally, 30-18.

On Saturday, SLU came out to play what was to be their toughest
match, against perennial power UW-Milwaukee. Milwaukee had their
way with the Bills the entire match, winning three straight to drop
the Bills.

With the recent tear that the Bills have been on, though, as
well as the confidence boost that comes with successive sweeps, the
Bills should be a force to be reckoned with, as they travel down
I-44 this weekend to partake in yet another weekend tournament.