The women’s volleyball team’s season came to an end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Dec. 5, when the team lost a heartbreaking game to Michigan in five sets. However, the volleyball team recorded one of the most successful seasons in program history, winning many games and earning several accolades.

The team finished with a 29-5 record and went undefeated in conference games. They won the Atlantic-10 tournament, earning a NCAA tournament bid. The team won its first game against Alabama A&M, the first NCAA tournament win in the program’s history.

The team also earned many individual honors. Junior Sammi McCloud was named A-10 Player of the Year while classmate Whitney Roth was named Atlantic-10 Setter of the Year.

Juniors Whitney Behrens and Bridget Fonke, as well as McCloud and Roth, were named to the AVCA Northeast Region first team and junior Sally Warning was a Northeast Region honorable mention. McCloud was named to the AVCA All-American Third Team, the first time in program history that a Billiken was named to an All-American team. Behrens, Fonke and Roth were AVCA All-American Honorable Mentions.

Head coach Anne Kordes expressed her pleasure with her player’s remarkable accomplishments.

“This is a credit to all the hard work these players put in during the offseason,” Kordes said. “There is no doubt that their leadership, competitiveness and athletic ability has put them in this position to be counted among the top players in the country. I couldn’t be more proud of these players and this team.”

Kordes was also honored for her work this season as she was named AVCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year.

Despite the team’s second round exit in the NCAA tournament, this season was filled with new records and individual awards, making this volleyball season one of the most successful in Saint Louis University history.