It is do or die for the Saint Louis University volleyball team
this weekend, as they hit the road for a good old-fashion beat down
against Charlotte and East Carolina. The premise is simple: Win and
the Billikens are probably going to the Conference USA tournament;
lose and they are home for the holidays.
“This is a must-win weekend for us. Charlotte and East Carolina
are the teams that we are up against for the final spot in the
tournament. In fact, I think we are tied with East Carolina for
that spot right now,” said coach Marilyn Nolen.
The UNC-Charlotte 49ers will enter their bout with the Billikens
0-9 in league play, but trailing the Billikens and the East
Carolina Pirates by a single game.
The 49ers come into the game with a very young squad, sporting
only two seniors. They have lost 11 of their last 12, with the only
break to their conference losing streak being a sweep of
intra-state rival Davidson.
“We know what we have to do to keep our tournament hopes strong
and this is definitely part of that. I am encouraged and I know
that our girls will give their all,” Nolen said.
The Billikens will take on the 49ers tomorrow at 7 p.m. and will
then move on to face the Pirates, the team with whom they are tied
for the final tournament spot.
The Pirates boast a strong outside hitter, junior Sarah Vick,
who is coming off a 16-kill performance in ECU’s lone conference
win, over Charlotte last weekend.
The Bills are at the end of an injury-plagued season that took
several key players, including their sole returning starter, Ashley
Hunter, for most of the season, and in the midst of a rebuilding
year. The Billikens will rely heavily on junior middle hitter Kayla
Kmitta, who is coming off of an 18 kill performance over the
weekend and had 10 blocks in one match two weeks ago. Also being
looked upon to carry some of the burden will be lone senior Alyson
Merchant, who recently claimed the starting left outside hitter
spot.
“Alyson has shown a lot of strength on the court, which is
helping us a lot,” Nolen said.
The match against ECU should prove to be more interesting than
most, both because of the playoff implications involved and also
because both teams have similar problems finishing matches.
“We are notorious for not pulling those games out, which is
funny because that was one of our strengths last season,” Nolen
said.
That was precisely the problem for the Billikens this past
weekend, when they played host to C-USA leaders Cincinnati and
Louisville at the Bauman-Eberhardt Center last Friday and Saturday
night, respectively, and found out precisely why the Bearcats and
Cardinals are sitting comfortably atop the conference
leaderboard.
Friday night, the Billikens tangled with the undefeated Bearcats
and saw what the rest of the league already knew, which was that
the Bearcats are most assuredly the team to beat in C-USA. Although
the outcome, a Bearcats 3-1, was not what SLU had planned, they did
take some positives out of it.
“We had a good weekend. We didn’t get a win but we did pull out
a close game against Cincinnati, 34-32, and we are going about as
strong as we can,” Nolen said.
But the Saturday match against second-ranked Louisville turned
out to be too much for the Bills to handle, as they dropped the
match in three straight games.
The Billikens are running out of time in their quest to right
their season and make a run in the C-USA tournament, but if they
hope to, it all starts this weekend against ECU and Charlotte.
Bottom of the ninth, fourth down and forever, turn four at
Daytona. They all apply. It’s do or die time for the Billikens this
weekend in North Carolina.
Sweet Carolina
Who: UNC-Charlotte 49ers
When: Tomorrow, 7 p.m.
Where: Charlotte, N.C.
