If we were to turn back the clock one year, we would find the Saint Louis University volleyball team with a record of 4-6 through 10 matches. Fast-forward to the present day and it would seem that little has changed; the team stands at 3-5 following a somewhat disappointing weekend at the Popcorn Invitational in Valparaiso, Ind. However, coach Anne Kordes knows that she has a special squad that won’t repeat its predecessor’s 15-17 record at the end of the year. “We have a lot of incredible kids on this team. After the weekend, they were all excited about practice and ready to get back into it,” said Kordes. In the first match of the weekend, the team dropped all three games to host Valparaiso (6-1). The Bills had trouble with their service opportunities throughout the match, and the offense never seemed to find its rhythm-best indicated by the mere .073 hitting percentage in the second game. The team was paced by junior Tatyana Menshikova, who continued her stellar first year at SLU with 16 kills for the match. Seniors Lauren Boissevain and Erin McClanahan added 32 assists and 14 digs, respectively. “We struggled with passing, and we weren’t able to put ourselves in the position to run a strong offense. We missed a lot of serves and sideouts early, and I think it hurt our confidence as we tended to err a bit more,” said Kordes. The second match of the weekend did not go much better for the Bills, as the undefeated Eastern Michigan Eagles swept SLU 3-0. The Billikens had trouble preventing big runs, as the Eagles had runs of 10-1 in the first game and 9-1 in the second game. While the team managed to keep things close in the third game, they ultimately fell behind by a 30-26 margin. Menshikova led the team in kills again with 13, and Sutton Lasater continued her solid sophomore campaign, hitting .526 and registering 11 kills for the match. However, the team knew that it did not play to its potential against EMU, whose record remained unblemished at 5-0. “We needed to be more consistent with ball control and limit the unforced errors. We’ve already proved we could play better than this earlier in the year. We need to stay focused and play to win rather than playing not to lose,” said Kordes. The final match of the weekend got off to an inauspicious start as the Billikens lost their seventh straight game, a 31-29 decision to Drake. But the team rallied together after the disappointing opening game. “They realized the game was going to be a fight, and that they were the superior team. By the time I even reached the huddle they knew what they had to do to get the job done,” said Kordes. At that point, the Billikens rode an explosive offense that notched 73 kills on their way to victory in the next three games, giving them the match. Leading the attack was sophomore Angela Powers, who had a career-high 22 kills. “Angela was awesome; she’s an emotional leader who is extremely competitive,” Kordes said. “She became sick of the way we played in the previous games and really took it upon herself to be a go-to player in the match.” The 4-6 mark that the Billikens sport is a bit deceiving, as SLU has played an extremely rigorous schedule up to this point. The combined record of the six teams who have defeated the Bills stood at 41-9 following the weekend. The team is excited for its first home games of the season, which take place this weekend at the Billiken Invitational. The team will take on Oakland this Friday at 7 p.m. in the friendly confines of the Bauman-Eberhardt Center. Saturday, the team will face Middle Tennessee State at 10 a.m., followed by a nightcap at 7 p.m. against the Washington State Cougars.