After playing on the road for the first two weeks of the season, the Saint Louis University volleyball team came into the Santo Bento Volleyball Invitational here at SLU with one thing on its mind-defending home court.
The Billikens did just that, as they defeated Southeast Missouri 3-1, Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis 3-0 and Connecticut 3-1 in the championship match to lock up the first-place title.
“We were worried about the effort we would get [in the tournament], but we executed with energy and excitement, and the girls did a great job,” head coach Anne Kordes said.
Another focus of the Billikens heading into the tournament was to have a solid start to each match. A lack of momentum between games gave the team some problems in the first couple weeks of conference play.
“Two weeks ago we started out shaky, so [in this tournament] we wanted to start strong and work on maintaining our lead,” senior Sutton Lasater said.
In the championship match, the Billikens executed their game plan by coming out strong and gaining a commanding 2-0 lead after defeating UConn 30-25 and 30-20 in the first two games. The Huskies did not go silently, however, as they took the third game 30-28.
“It was important to get after it and play strong,” Lasater said. “UConn played well, and we let up in the third game, but we kept playing with intensity and the match went back in our favor; it was such a fight in the end.”
The Billikens won an exciting, decisive fourth game 37-35 after trailing 23-16 at one point. SLU fell behind early in game four and could never quite catch up. McCloud tried to help out the Bills’ cause when she recorded back-to-back kills and contributed to a block to cut it to 10-9.
Kordes said she was excited that they were able to grab a victory at home heading into tough matches away this weekend.
“I’m proud of the team,” Kordes said. “Whitney Behrens, Bridget Fonke, and Lasater were all a major part of our success.
“In the middle, Sutton did a great job and we had Sammi McCloud back for the first time in two weeks. Fonke was just unloading on the ball.”
Fonke led the Billikens with 23 kills, while McCloud and Lasater added 17 and 14, respectively, of their own.
Because of her strong defensive efforts, which include 13 digs in the UConn match alone, Behrens was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Additionally, Lasater and Fonke each earned a place on the All-Tournament team.
The Billikens will face another tough challenge this weekend as they travel to Evanston, Ill., to compete in the Wildcat Classic hosted by Northwestern.
“Our goal is to win,” Kordes said. “Northwestern and Western Michigan have very athletic players, so it will be tough to pull out wins.
“There is always room for improvement. Our passing needs to stabilize. We’re young, so the girls need to realize how wonderful and talented they are and they will see that they can compete in the top 25 [nationally],” Kordes said.
Lasater said that this final preseason tournament will be a big weekend for the Bills, facing two tough teams. They are currently working on improving communication and limiting their errors on the court.
“If we can perfect what we’ve been working on, then it’s going to take a good team to stop us,” Lasater added.
The Bills open with two matches on Friday, facing off against Western Michigan first and Drake second, and then cap off the tournament with Northwestern on Saturday. Kordes said it would be big if the Billikens could down a Big-10 team on the road, while continuing to improve and compete at a higher level.
“We’re excited to show the determination we have,” Lasater said. “If we do that, it will be a good weekend.”
