A trip to the east coast resulted in a split decision for the Billikens this past weekend. After a 2-3 loss at Rhode Island Friday night the Billikens responded with a sweep of the Fordham Rams on their senior day.
The five-setter opened with a decisive 25-16 first set win for the Billikens. Collectively, the Billikens recorded a .393 attack percentage holding Rhode Island to only .148. The second set fell in favor of the Rams defense. Rhode Island dominated defensively with SLU hitting only .111 on the set evening the match out 1-1.
After the break, SLU regained their composure notching an impressive .343 hitting percentage. Freshman Danielle Rygelski recorded a set high 4 kills followed closely by Gilbert and a combined freshmen effort for Mallory Dillon and Taylor Paulson each with 3 kills. Jendryk also recorded 3 blocks. In set four the Billikens struggled to gain momentum and the Rams won the fourth 25-7 in their most decisive set of the season. SLU recorded only 7 points on a -.077 attack percentage while the Rams hit an outstanding .550.
Tied 2-2 going into the deciding set the Rams and the Billikens exchanged points up until a 12-10 with the score in favor of the Bills. In a final effort the Rams concluded the set with a 5-0 run and finished the match 15-12. Taylor Paulson recorded a team high .471 hitting percentage for the match.
The Billikens then headed to the Bronx to earn their 10th win of the season. The Ram’s said fair well to seven seniors in their last home match of the season this past Sunday. The first set SLU led a strong defensive effort holding the Rams to a -.053 attack percentage for a 25-18 win. The second set featured a closer finish. After a tie score at 11-11 the teams exchanged points until SLU grabbed a 23-20 lead. Out of the timeout SLU grabbed the first two points for a 25-23 score and 2-0 lead in the match.
Rygelski lit up the third set with 6 of her 15 total kills falling in the final set. Gilbert also contributed offensively with 4 kills of her own and an additional 5 digs. A 25-22 win concluded the sweep in favor of the Billikens. Freshman Ashley Gagen notched a team high 8 digs. Jendryk’s 4 total blocks in the match marked her fourth consecutive match recording 4 blocks on the season.
The Billikens return to action at Chaifetz Pavilion Nov. 8, when they host Rhode Island. First serve is set for 7 p.m. The game will be Camp Reunion Night and all Billiken Volleyball campers receive free admission if they wear their camp shirt. You can catch the Billikens again at home the next night Nov. 9 for the annual Billiken Blue-Out against current A-10 front-runner VCU.
