After a long eight-game road stretch to start off the season,
the Saint Louis University volleyball team returns to the
Bauman-Eberhart Center this weekend to kick off their home schedule
in their own tournament, aptly named the Billiken Invitational.

In town for the contests this weekend are the North Texas Mean
Green and the Valparaiso Crusaders. North Texas enters the
tournament looking to find a rhythm, or at least a place to start,
as they are 0-7 on the season and reeling.

They do have some talent to lean on in the likes of Katy Prokof
and Taylor Lawrence, who have posted solid kill tallies so far this
year, but overall they have fallen to a disappointing start after
going 22-14 last season.

In fact, one of those wins came against the Billikens, in the
two teams’ only match against each other to date. That win came in
the Southwest Missouri State tournament.

Also coming to town is Valpo who, unlike the Mean Green, have
gotten off to a raucous start and don’t show too many signs of
slowing down.

The Crusaders are paced by Liz Mikos who was named the
Mid-Continent Conference’s Defensive Player of the Week last week,
in helping the Crusaders to three more victories.

The Crusaders are already 6-2, with their only two losses coming
from the likes of Purdue and Kentucky.

The Billikens should be ready for the tournaments after
lackluster performances this past weekend at the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee Tournament and again this past Tuesday against
Butler.

The Bills were swept by UWM and the College of Charleston to
open the tournament but rallied back to the point where it looked
like they were going to sneak out a win against IUPUI, only to have
it taken away from them in the fifth and final game.

The Bills are still trying to get healthy, though, as they were
without the services of senior middle hitter Kayla Kmitta and
sophomore middle hitter Angela Powers for all four games and also
had to do without star player Aida Antanaviciute for the Butler
match on Tuesday.

Kmitta and Powers both have leg injuries, which has prevented
them from playing in any matches so far this season. However,
Antanaviciute was kept out of the Butler match Tuesday due to an
illness. Her presence, or lack thereof, was definitely felt.

After battling the Bulldogs to a split in the first two games,
they were just simply out-matched down the stretch and ended up
being beaten 3-1.

Lauren Boissevain and Jessica Poorbaugh led the team with 13
kills a piece and freshman Crissy King stepped into the defensive
specialist position and posted a team high, not to mention a career
high, of 25 digs.

The Bills will look to bounce back to their winning ways of the
early season this Friday at noon against North Texas, and then
again Friday evening at 7 p.m. against Valpo.

The order is reversed on Saturday as the Bills will play Valpo
in the early match at 10 a.m. and then cap off the tournament in
the prime time matchup against North Texas at 7 p.m.