John Wooden once said that sports do not build character; they
reveal it. If that is true, then the character of all of the
athletes who participate for the Saint Louis University club
volleyball teams, both men’s and women’s, is immeasurable.

Playing without scholarships, they practice, coach and schedule
matches and tournaments almost completely by themselves and usually
win and lose with minimal recognition, it is safe to say that the
players of the Billiken club volleyball teams truly play–without
sounding too much like a Kevin Costner movie-for the love of the
game.

And this past weekend, in Charlotte, N.C., at the National
Intermural-Recreational Sports Association’s volleyball
championships, each team, both the men’s and the women’s, surprised
everyone but themselves in making runs through the final day and
placing Saint Louis University club volleyball into the upper
echelon of club sports.

The women’s team, competing in a field of 60, was seeded 18th at
the onset of the tournament; not bad for a team that practices
rarely twice a week, but not nearly on the level that they
perceived themselves.

“At the beginning of the year we set a goal for ourselves to be
ranked in the top 10 by the end. But as the year went on and we saw
how good we were playing, we changed that goal to the top five,”
team captain Megan Sapinski said.

And that is precisely what they did. After sweeping pool play in
the opening round last Thursday, which included wins against
Baylor, San Diego State and Maryland, the team advanced to the
challenge round, for another round of pool play, on Friday–knowing
that they had to finish in the top two of that pool to advance to
the final day.

Again, that is what they did, although this time they were not
as convincing, as they handily beat North Carolina State but lost
to the University of California-San Diego. Still, with the win over
NC State, the women’s team finished second in the pool and advanced
to the final, single elimination round.

On the final day, SLU squared off against Texas A&M, who was
seeded fourth.

They made quick work of their Aggie opponents and moved on to
the round of 16 and a showdown with Colorado State. In one of their
more intense matches, the Billikens split the first two games and
forced a third and final game.

After going back and forth for the duration, SLU was able to
squeak out a 16-14 victory and advance again.

However, it was their Jesuit rival from the north, Marquette,
that awaited them in the next round, and Marquette was not an easy
customer.

The Golden Eagles knocked off SLU quite convincingly and ended
their run.

In the end, though, the cache of victories, the surprising
finish and the individual achievements, including All-American
honors for Melissa Reimer and Ashley Kendall, far outweighed the
final loss; and with every one but two girls returning next year,
the future of SLU women’s club volleyball looks bright.

As does the future of the men’s team, who, granted, had more
national recognition entering the tournament, as they were seeded
eighth. They, too, were also able to surpass their seed and the low
expectations that accompanied it, as they finished third.

Although they started the tournament off slowly which is
probably due to the fact that they only practiced about once a
week.

They advanced through the first two rounds, in much the same
fashion as the women, sweeping opening round pool play on the first
day and splitting their games on the second day: a win against
Cornell but a loss to Boston College.

On the final day, they were seeded 13th and faced off against
previously unbeaten Dominican in the first round of the elimination
round. They beat them in three games.

“I think they were stunned to lose,” Joe Duchek said.

After that the men rolled over Plattesville again and had a
semi-final showdown with Carthage.

“Carthage is a team that practiced every day for the past year.
They will be moving up to NCAA play next year,” Duchek said.

But SLU was able to take Carthage the distance.

After winning the first game, 25-20, Carthage bounced back to
take the second, 25-22, and was able to pull out the deciding game,
15-9, and advance to the championship, where they dispatched Ohio
Northern without an incident and took home the title.

“If we would have beaten Carthage, we would have won it all,”
Duchek said.

Like the women’s team, the men garnered some individual awards,
with Duchek and Loren Lee being named honorable mention
All-Americans, and Will Hand coming away with the highest of
honors, being named tournament’s best player.

As most national tournaments tend to do, this one effectively
ended both the men’s and women’s seasons. However, it also made a
statement for the club volleyball program.

“Before this tournament, everyone was like, ‘Who’s Saint Louis?
Now they know we’re for real,” Sapinksi said.