No. 21 Billikens Host Duquesne Friday
SLU looking to extend five-match winning streak
This Week: No. 21 Saint Louis, which has won its last five matches, hosts its first Atlantic 10 Conference match of the season when Duquesne comes to Chaifetz Pavilion for a 7 p.m. contest Friday, Oct. 2.
For Tickets: Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Chaifetz Arena box office, by phone at (314) 977-4SLU or online atwww.slubillikens.com. On match days, tickets will be available only at the entrance to Chaifetz Pavilion. Ticket prices are $7 for adults, $5 for youth. Groups of 20 or more receive discounted tickets for $3 apiece. Students with a valid SLU ID card receive free admission. All seating is general admission.
Following the Action: SLU’s home matches will be video streamed live through Billiken All-Access at www.slubillikens.com. Subscriptions are available for $79.95 annually or $9.95 a month. Gametracker for all home matches will also be available free of charge on Saint Louis’ web site.
Last Week: Saint Louis blanked Rhode Island and Fordham on the road to begin its fifth season in the Atlantic 10 Conference.Sammi McCloud helped the Bills extend their win streak to five with a team-best 4.50 kills and 1.17 blocks per set last weekend, while hitting at a team-high .545 clip. She posted a career- and match-high .625 hitting percentage in the Rhode Island contest. McCloud was recognized as the A-10 Offensive Player of the Week Sept. 28.
About the Billikens: Saint Louis (9-5, 2-0 A-10) will get a small respite this week as it enjoys its only one-match weekend of the season. Senior right-side hitter Sammi McCloud leads the Bills and ranks fifth in the A-10 with 3.36 kills per set, while senior outside hitter Bridget Fonke contributes 3.02 kills per set and has a team-high 14 service aces. Senior setter Whitney Rothdirects the offense with 10.60 assists per set. Sophomore middle blocker Lydia Blaha paces the squad with 0.64 blocks per set. Meanwhile, junior outside hitter Megan Boken, who has tallied a team-high 11 solo blocks, chips in 0.60 blocks per set. Five Billikens are averaging more than 2.10 digs per set, with senior libero Whitney Behrens leading the way with 3.02 digs per set.
About the Dukes: Duquesne (11-5, 2-0 A-10), which has limited opponents to a league-low .173 hitting percentage, is riding a four-match winning streak. Last weekend, SLU swept Rhode Island and Fordham, while the Dukes defeated Fordham 3-1 and downed Rhody 3-2. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Nicole Wright paces the club with 3.23 kills per set. However, sophomore middle blocker Liz Homan, a 2008 A-10 All-Rookie pick, has been the Dukes top offensive threat during A-10 play, averaging 3.44 kills and a league-leading 1.33 blocks per set. Freshman outside hitter Sara Scheirman, already a two-time A-10 Rookie of the Week selection, has compiled a team-high 16 service aces while also adding 2.65 kills and 2.98 digs per set. Senior Chelsea Tillotson leads Duquesne with 9.49 assists per set. Junior libero Amy Palko has been the squad’s top back-row defender with 3.77 digs per set. Head coach Steve Opperman is 157-185 in 12 seasons at DU, 276-301 in 19 seasons overall. SLU, which has won its last four matches against the Dukes, leads the series 6-2.
Billi(ken) Blanks: SLU has delivered a sweep in all but one of its victories this season. The Billikens’ only win this season that has gone more than three sets was their 3-1 win against Miami (Ohio) Aug. 29. Saint Louis, which has posted sweeps in its last five matches, has compiled eight sweeps this season.
Heavy Hitters: Saint Louis has enjoyed four of its best hitting performances of the season in four of the last five matches. The Billikens turned in what was then their top hitting percentage of the season (.349) Sept. 18 vs. SIU Edwardsville. The next day, SLU surpassed that mark with a .429 hitting performance against Toledo. Saint Louis turned in its best offensive outing of the season Sept. 25 when it hit at a .476 clip at Rhode Island. The Bills notched a .374 hitting percentage against Fordham less than 24 hours later.
A-10 History: The Bills have been extremely successful in conference play since joining the A-10 in 2005. Saint Louis, which captured regular-season crowns in 2006 and 2008, owns a 42-12 (.778) conference ledger. Saint Louis’ winning percentage is tops among current A-10 programs. Last season’s 13-0 record marked the first time since 1997 that a team had finished the league slate unbeaten.
Polling Place: The Bills came in at No. 21 in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Poll. Saint Louis was No. 23 the previous week after entering the season with a national ranking for the first time in program history. The Billikens were No. 20 in the AVCA Preseason Poll.
Head Coach Anne Kordes: Head coach Anne Kordes is in her sixth season at Saint Louis with a 112-59 (.655) career ledger. The 1998 Louisville graduate enjoyed her winningest campaign as a head coach in 2008 when she guided the Bills to their second A-10 West regular-season crown, their second A-10 Championship title and NCAA Tournament bid, and the first unbeaten conference slate since 1997. Kordes earned CVU.com (Collegiate Volleyball Update) National Coach of the Year honors and was named AVCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year last season. In 2006, she led SLU to its first NCAA Volleyball Tournament appearance after her squad captured its first A-10 Championship crown and tied for the A-10 West regular-season title. Kordes is only the second coach in program history to earn more than 100 victories at SLU. The 2006 and 2008 A-10 Coach of the Year is joined on the sideline by assistant coaches Kyle Walton and Angela Powers, volunteer assistant Corey Arbini and director of volleyball operations Andy Halaz.
Can You Dig It?: Last weekend, senior Whitney Behrens became the program’s career digs leader. SLU’s new digs standard is 1,480 and counting. Behrens eclipsed Irene Haugh’s mark of 1,474 career digs, which had stood since 1990.
Hey You Get Off of McCloud: Senior Sammi McCloud needs 10 more digs to become a member of SLU’s 1,000-dig club. She is No. 12 on the career list with 990. When she meets the milestone, McCloud will be just the fifth player in program history to compile more than 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career. Other Billikens in this prestigious club are Irene Haugh (1987-90), Colleen Hunter (1999-2002), Kim Moorleghen (1987-90) and Julie Tretten (1994-97).
Bridget’s Breakthrough: Senior Bridget Fonke, a 2008 A-10 first-team selection, became the 11th member of SLU’s 1,000-kill club against Toledo Sept. 19. On the Billikens’ career charts, she ranks 10th with 1,043 career kills, sixth with 124 service aces and 18th with 36 block solos.
Roth & Roll: Senior Whitney Roth, the A-10 Setter of the Year the past two seasons, is only the second setter in school history ranked among SLU’s career top 20 for assists, digs and block assists. Early last season, she became the program’s all-time assist leader and has 4,771 assists to date. She is 19th on the career block assists chart (148) and 20th on the career digs list (836). Roth is also closing in on the top 20 for career aces. She is 21st with 77. Lauren Boissevain is the only other Billiken setter among the top 20 in those statistical categories, ranking fourth in assists (2,348), 15th in digs (916) and 18th in block assists (149).
Around the A-10: As of Sept. 28, Saint Louis ranks first among A-10 teams with a .255 hitting percentage and 13.42 kills per set in all matches. The Bills are second with 12.07 assists per set and third with 1.42 aces per set. Individually, three players rank among the top 10 players in the league statistically. Whitney Roth is third with 10.60 assists per set. Sammi McCloud is fifth with 3.36 kills per set and 10th with a .290 hitting rate. Bridget Fonke is tied for eighth with 0.31 aces and ninth with 3.02 kills per set.
Conference Call: Following the first week of A-10 action, the Billikens are hitting at a league-high .423 rate. George Washington ranks second with a .292 hitting percentage. SLU comes in second with 14.67 kills per set and is tied for third with 1.17 service aces per set. Five Bills rank among the top 10 in the A-10 statistically. Sammi McCloud’s .545 hitting percentage ranks second, while she is third with 4.50 kills per set and 1.17 blocks per set. Additionally, McCloud is tied for eighth with 0.33 aces per set. Megan Boken is third with a .459 hitting percentage and tied for eighth with 3.33 kills per set. Meanwhile, Whitney Roth is second with 11.83 assists per set, Whitney Behrens is tied for eighth with 0.33 aces per set and Bridget Fonke is 10th with a .386 hitting percentage.
A View from the Top (10): Senior Sammi McCloud, the reigning A-10 Player of the Year, is quickly working her way into SLU’s career top 10 in five statistical categories. She is already No. 7 with 1,241 career kills, No. 10 in block assists with 220 and No. 12 on the digs (990) list. McCloud ranks 12th with 236 total blocks and 13th with 101 career service aces. The only players in Billiken history ranked among the top 10 in each of those categories are Colleen Hunter (1999-2002) and Julie Tretten (1994-97).
A Formidable Foe: After playing one of the toughest schedules in the country in 2008, Saint Louis is at it again in 2009. The Billikens took on five teams ranked among the nation’s top 15 in the first three weeks of the season. SLU faced top-ranked Penn State in the Active Ankle Challenge during the season-opening weekend. At the Hawaiian Airlines Classic Sept. 3-6, the Bills battled No. 2 Texas, No. 4 Hawai’i and No. 10 California. Saint Louis played No. 14 Illinois Sept. 12 in the State Farm Classic. A-10 foe Dayton is receiving votes this week.
On the Go with Gaillot: Sophomore defensive specialist Ashley Gaillot will keep a blog this season called “On the Go with Gaillot” at www.slubillikens.com. Her blog will provide fans with a weekly behind-the-scenes look at the 2009 Billiken volleyball team.