Sept. 8, 2001

Stats

Madison, Wis. - The Saint Louis University volleyball team closed out the Badger Invitational by dropping its match against Ball State, 3-0. Game scores were 30-27, 30-24, 30-26. The Billikens the opportunity to win all three games, but came up just short in the late going.

In game one, the Billikens led for most of the way and the score was tied 27-all, but the Cardinals scored the final three points to take the lead. Game two developed in the same manner. The Billikens grabbed the early lead and BSU slowly closed the gap and pulled out a late rally. Game three was a back-and-forth affair, but the Cardinals put together a streak late and closed out the match with a 30-26 win.

Brooke Minniear hit .467 to lead the Billikens with seven kills on 15 attempts. Colleen Hunter had a team-high 10 kills. Cristal Leonard contributed eight kills and Shannan Swiney handed out 35 assists. Saint Louis hit .221 as a team but the Cardinals posted a .291 attack percentage and out-dug the Bills.

"We played much better today than we did yesterday," said head coach Marilyn Nolen. "Our lineup is starting to come together and I'm pleased with our progress. Winning a game against Wisconsin was a big boost for our confidence and we had some good defense and digging. This will give us some confidence heading into the Indiana match on Tuesday."

The Billikens fall to 2-5 on the season, while Ball State evens its record at 4-4. Saint Louis returns home on Tues, Sept. 11, to face Indiana at 7 pm at Bauman-Eberhardt Center.