The volleyball match against Northern Iowa Sept. 25 proved to be an epic one bewteen champions.

SLU, which was the Atlantic 10 Conference champion last year, defeated the Panthers, who were the Missouri Valley champions last year, 3-2 in five games.

“We knew it would be a battle heading into the game,” head coach Anne Kordes said. “It was a huge win for us, especially coming off two previous losses the week earlier.”

After SLU took the first game, the Panthers came back strong and won the next two games, each of which was decided by only two points. The Billikens, then, rallied the final two games to take the match.

“I think we played really well on Tuesday, and it was a really good win for us,” junior blocker Lauren Christman said. “I was really proud how we were able to come back from behind after they took the lead at the beginning of some of the games.”
While senior Sutton Lasater posted her 1000th career kill in the game against UNI, the team advances into A-10 play with an 11-5 record.

“We didn’t want to let the UNI match slide by and be regretting not giving it our all–that was probably the biggest factor,” freshman Megan Boken said.

Kordes said the tough match-ups the Bills have had this year have helped them to stay disciplined and grow in maturity.
“There’s no question that we’re challenging ourselves with our schedule,” Kordes said. “Every team we’ve played in the last six or seven games has been potential NCAA contenders.”

Since conference games have started, every game in the next couple of weeks matters.

“We need to do some more technical training before these matches,” Christman said. “We know we have the effort and determination, now we just have to become more polished.”