Head Volleyball Coach Anne Kordes has her team just about where she wants it. After two months of practice and tournament play, the Saint Louis Billikens will wrap up off-season competition in two weeks at the Chaifetz Pavilion.
The Bills (29-5 in 2008), who earned the 13th overall seed in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, finished one of the best seasons in program history.
SLU, which also captured the program’s first NCAA Tournament win in 2008, completed the season ranked eighth in the final RPI (ratings percentage index).
The Billikens lose just one player from the 2008 squad while returning four All-Americans and five of six starters in 2009.
“With only losing one senior, to me, these spring tournaments have been all about figuring out a lineup for this year,” Kordes said. “We’ve been able to change the lineup around in several different and still maintain a high level of play. The competition for positions is as fierce as it has been at SLU, ever.
“We also saw some great individual performances, particularly from our freshmen. Alyssa Deno had a fabulous weekend, contributing in every match, while Lydia Blaha (transfer from Boise State) did well on the block and Casey Chernin was able to add another dimension to our outside attack.”
After a two-week hiatus from competition, the Saint Louis volleyball team continues its spring slate this Saturday at a tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
The Bills open against Kansas and will take on 2008 NCAA Tournament participants Colorado State and host Kansas State.
The team will also face Creighton in a best-of-three format.
Two weeks ago at the Ohio Valley Volleyball Center Spring Tournament in Louisville, Ky., Saint Louis put together another solid outing.
The Billikens got off to a good start with a 25-19, 25-23 win over Louisville in the opener. After dropping the first set to Cincinnati 25-22, they rallied to take the next two sets 25-18, 15-11 to earn the match victory. SLU’s lone loss of the tournament was an 18-25, 19-25 decision against 2008 NCAA Tournament participant Kentucky.
But the Bills rebounded to pull out a tough three-set match against Notre Dame 25-22, 22-25, 15-8.
“Our players have definitely been working hard to build upon last season,” Kordes said. “I told the team at the beginning of spring I want to minimize the points scored by the other team’s offense by picking up two more balls a game. Let’s get two more digs per game. So we’ve been working hard on that, on the technique, and defense has been a big focus for us.”
SLU wraps up its spring schedule Sat., April 25, with its own tournament from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Chaifetz Pavilion. Admission is free.
“And I think that says a lot about the quality of practice and the commitment of our kids. [This tournament] should be a lot of fun. It’ll be the last time to see us play before we open up the season in August.”
