The Billiken volleyball team has had a tough stretch lately. The
Billikens have lost seven of their last 10 games. They will look to
their weekend tournament to help turn things around.

This coming weekend, the Saint Louis University volleyball team
will head up to Fairfield, Conn. to face off against the Temple
Owls, the New Hampshire Wildcats and the Fairfield Stags, the host
team.

The Billikens have never faced any of these three squads but
they should probably get used to facing off against the Owls, as
they will be a perennial foe of the Billikens starting next season
when the Billikens join the Atlantic 10.

The trip up to the northeast will undoubtedly allow Coach Anne
Kordes to showcase her squad in an area that has not been a
particular hotbed for the Billikens’ recruiting in years past, but
which will become increasingly important next season when their
schedule takes on a substantially east coast tilt.

Kordes wants players and teams to noice the power that is
starting to build here at SLU.

Once people see the program that is being established, and the
move to the Atlantic 10, things can only look bright for the
Billiken volleyball team.

None of the teams the Bills will square off against this weekend
have winning records. But still, all of these teams–Billikens
included–have stacked their schedules with some stiff competition.
For example, the Temple Owls are 2-8 so far this season, but they
have losses this year against Arizona, North Carolina in Ohio
State. They are the defending A-10 champion.

Fairfield, the host of the tourney, is 5-6, but they are in the
midst of a three-game winning streak and don’t show too many signs
of slowing up.

New Hampshire, the defending America East Champion, is also
struggling out of the gate, starting 4-7, but they too have stacked
their lineup with some incredible competition and will definitely
be a load to handle this weekend.

The Billikens are hovering around the .500 mark, splitting four
games this past weekend in the Billiken Invitational and finishing
second. They dropped both games to a surging Valparaiso team, but
they swept both matches against North Texas at the Billiken
Invitational this past weekend.

The Billikens played strong all weekend, and two individuals
earned all-tournament honors. Sutton Lasater and Aida Antanaviciute
were both honored for their stellar play over the weekened.

The Billikens will need another solid tournament representation
from those two, and the rest of the team, this weekend in
Fairfield.

The Billikens are trying to use the momentum of their last win
to keep their season steamrolling. With their regular season almost
half over, the Billikens are looking for a strong late push heading
into the Conference USA tournament.The bulk of their schedule
remaining is conference opponents. That is why having momentum down
the stretch is key.

After the tournament in Fairfield, the Billikens come back to
St. Louis for one home game before heading back to the road for
three away games. They will face Memphis, Tulane and Southern
Mississippi all in the span of eight days. Before that the
Billikens will play host to Illinois State.