Coming off of the weekend with a 3-4 record, after the Nike Invitational in Stockton, Calif., and a trip to University of Kansas behind them, the women’s volleyball team is optimistic about the rest of its games and its upcoming debut in the Atlantic 10 conference.
The Billikens continued preseason play last weekend at the Nike Invitational against the Purdue Boilermakers.
The Boilermakers took game one of the match 30-21, with a hitting average of .552.
In the second game of the match, the Billikens trailed 26-19 when an ace from Lauren Boissevain and a kill from Angela Powers closed the gap to a mere 26-22.
After Jessica Poorbaugh put down a ball, the Boilers followed with two straight hitting errors, narrowing the gap to only 27-25. A service error kept the Billikens from regaining the lead, and Purdue went on to win the game 30-26, though the Billikens out-hit the Boilermakers .312-.229.
The Boilers took game three of the match with a final score of 30-21, giving them the 3-0 sweep in the match.
Against the Boilers, Tatyana Menshikova had a match-high 14 kills, with Powers following closely behind with 10. Boissevain handed out 35 assists.
On day two of the Nike Invitational had the Billikens faced the host of the tournament, Pacific University.
In the first game of the match, the Billikens and the Pacific Tigers were neck-and-neck until the Tigers ended the game by scoring seven of the last eight points, with a final score of 30-23.
Game two of the day started the Billikens off with a 4-0 lead. After a kill from Poorbaugh, taking the Bills up 7-3, the Tigers responded with six straight points to take the lead. Menshikova responded for the Billikens with three straight kills, bringing the game to an 11-11 tie.
After 15 straight side-outs, the Billikens responded with kills from Sutton Lasater and Menshikova.
An error from Pacific gave the Billikens a 27-23 lead, and Angela Powers closed the game with a cross-court kill for a 30-25 win for the Billikens.
The Pacific Tigers took the third and fourth games of the match with scores of 30-23 and 30-20. Menshikova registered a match high of 27 kills, with Powers and Lasater both having a strong 11 kills.
Boissevain aided the Billikens with 52 assists, and 10 digs were contributed by Jessica Poorbaugh.
Closing out the Nike Invitational, the Billikens swept the Bradley Braves.
In game one of the match, at a 6-6 tie, junior Mo Shortal and Lasater gave the Billikens the edge with a 7-0 run.
The Braves responded later in the game, bringing the score to 26-26.
A tip by Powers brought the Billikens to game point, Lasater and Shortal combined efforts again for a block, giving the Billikens the win at 30-27.
Game two was a close contest all the way. With a score of 30-30, a cross-court kill from Menshikova and a hitting error by Bradley gave the Billikens the 32-30 win.
The Billikens took the final two games by scores of 30-23 and 30-21, bringing them to an overall preseason record of 3-3.
The game stats gave Menshikova 19 kills, while Lasater had 10 kills and seven blocks.
Shortal followed with eight kills on a .727 hitting average with no errors. Senior Erin McClanahan had 12 digs and Boissevain had an impressive 44 assists.
“I feel like we are playing some steep competition in getting ready for conference, but playing these teams are only going to challenge us and make us better, rather than playing teams we can easily beat,” Boissevain said.
On Tuesday, Sept. 7, the Billikens took on the University of Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kan.
The Jayhawks had an early lead in game one, but with a score of 12-8, the Billikens forced the Jayhawks into three straight errors, bringing the score to 12-11. With a kill from Powers and the combined efforts of Lasater and Shortal on a block, the score was tied at 14.
The game remained close with the Billikens down 21-20, but the Jayhawks then pulled away to take a 30-22 win.
Game two of the match was evenly played between the Bills and the Jayhawks until KU responded again with a scoring streak, ending the game 30-22.
Game three of the match began with a service ace from McClanahan, giving the Bills a 2-0 lead.
Lauren Christman and Shortal followed with two kills, bringing the Billikens up to a 4-1 lead.
The game was tied at 12-12 when a kill from Lasater, a KU hitting error and a combined block from Lasater and Menshikova gave the Billikens a 15-12 lead.
The game was tied at 15-15 and locked again at 18-18, but the Jayhawks seized a 23-18 lead. Powers responded with two kills to tie the game 24-24.
The game was again tied at 27 and 28, but the Jayhawks pulled away for a final score of 30-28.
“KU was a great atmosphere to play in. We played very well together, and even though we lost, we feel confident about the upcoming season,” said Powers
With the Billikens predicted to finish second in the West Division of the A-10 preseason coach’s poll, competitive preseason play is helping to ready the Billikens to live up to expectations.
“This has been the most challenging non-conference schedule Saint Louis University volleyball has ever had. It has been great to see our team step up and play such great competition,” said head coach Anne Kordes, upbeat about her squad’s accomplishments thus far.
The Billikens head to Valparaiso, Ind., next weekend to take on the Valparaiso Crusaders.
The Billikens volleyball team will also be hosting its annual fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2005, at 7:00 p.m. at the Linen Loft on 3124 Olive, where, for $10, students can enjoy food and drink specials, while supporting their SLU volleyball players.
