Nov. 16, 2000

Box Score

Charlotte, N.C. - Colleen Hunter posted her 17th double-double of the season to lead the Saint Louis University volleyball team to a 3-2 victory over Marquette in the first round of the 2000 Healthy Choice Conference USA Tournament in Charlotte, N.C. Game scores were 15-12, 15-8, 5-15, 14-16, 15-10. The Billikens will face top-seeded South Florida at noon (CT) on Fri., Nov. 17 at Halton Arena.

The Billikens scored six-straight points and took advantage of four late Marquette errors to register a win in game one. In game two, while holding an 8-7 lead, the Billikens closed out the game with a 7-1 run to push the margin to 2-0. The Bills hit a scorching .407 in the game and held Marquette to just .079 hitting. In game three, Marquette got hot and held the Bills in check to tally a 15-5 win. The Billikens hammered down 21 kills in the fourth game and were poised to close out the match, but Marquette tallied three-straight to earn a 16-14 win. In the rally-scored fifth, the Billikens scored four consecutive points to grab and early 6-2 lead. The teams traded points until 10-6 when Marquette rallied to within 11-9. But a Hunter kill, followed by a Golden Eagle error and a block by SLU pushed the Billikens to 14-9. Marquette tallied one more point, but Dani Apted ended the match with a kill to advance the Billikens to the quarterfinals.

Hunter, a first-team All-C-USA selection, had a match-high 28 kills and added 11 digs and six blocks. Ember Knobeloch chipped in 12 kills and Brooke Minniear enjoyed a strong all-around match with nine kills and nine blocks. Senior Jessica Moss led five Bills in double-figure digs with 15, while Apted added 14 and Cristal Leonard notched 12. Setter Shannan Swiney, who was selected to C-USA's All-Freshman squad, had 49 assists and 10 digs. The Billikens enjoyed a 72-62 dig advantage and had 13.0 team blocks to nine for Marquette.

Saint Louis improves to 13-17 while Marquette falls to 8-22.No. 1 seed South Florida is 25-4 and has won 18-straight matches.