Saint Louis University Women’s Volleyball swept their Halloween matchup 3-0 against the Davidson Wildcats, in North Carolina, before losing a thrilling five-set match to VCU, in Richmond, Va. The results bring SLU Volleyball to an 18-8 overall record, including a 7-4 Atlantic 10 record. The sweep against Davidson, who had previously beaten SLU at Chaifetz Pavilion, was SLU’s 9th sweep of the season, while the loss to VCU was SLU’s first on-the-road loss this entire season.
The matchup against Davidson brought SLU a chance for revenge, as Davidson’s only previous conference win had come against SLU here at Chaifetz in a major upset. However, this time around, SLU set the record straight with a dominant 3-0 sweep. The first set went according to plan as SLU won 25-16, and posted a .407 team attack percentage.
The second set followed along in a similar fashion, as SLU led nearly the entire way, except for an early 3-1 lead opened up by Davidson. Following that lead, SLU scored five straight points, and never surrendered the lead in the remainder of the second set. SLU won the set, unsurprisingly, 25-14.
After the break, SLU came out strong and kept their momentum, winning the third set 25-15. There were several Billikens who had standout performances in the match against Davidson. Freshman middle blocker Lauren Leverenz had a match-high 12 kills on only 14 attempts, and with only one error, for an attack percentage of .786. In addition, freshman outside hitter Nenye Okoro, sophomore outside hitter Danielle Rygelski, and junior middle blocker Megan Gilbert had eight kills each. Against the Wildcats, junior libero Anna Church tallied a match-high of 18 digs.
The match against VCU on Sunday, Nov. 2 was a different story, as SLU lost a heartbreaker in five sets. The teams were evenly matched, with SLU squeaking by in the first set with a score of 25-23, and VCU winning the second and third sets 25-16 and 25-19, respectively. SLU responded by winning the fourth set 25-20, forcing a fifth set. However, the fifth set was not as close as the previous four, as VCU took a 5-0 lead to begin the set and opened up a seven-point lead, before winning 15-9.
VCU, with their win, holds the season tiebreaker against SLU, as VCU had previously beaten SLU at Chaifetz Pavilion, and has won the season series against SLU. Both teams are currently tied for fourth in the conference at 7-4, and this tiebreaker, if the teams have even conference records, could come into play during seeding for the A-10 conference tournament.
Despite the loss, several Billikens had strong games. Church again posted a team-high number of digs, with 15 in the match. Leverenz followed up her stellar performance against Davidson with another strong outing, with 21 total kills and a hitting percentage of .531.
Next up is a rematch against Dayton on Saturday, Nov. 8. The Flyers lead the A-10 with a 10-1 conference record and have an outstanding 23-5 overall record this season.
The game will be a special one since it will be played at Chaifetz Arena instead of Chaifetz Pavilion, in order to accommodate the many SLU student-athletes that will be in attendance for the “Back to the Bills” event and to support their fellow Billikens.
According to sophomore setter Ashley Gagen, the support from SLU’s other student athletes will be greatly appreciated. “All of the student athletes are extremely busy with their own sports and other commitments, so when they come together and take time out of their day to cheer us on, it really is something special,” said Gagen.
