Oct. 12, 2002

Final Stats

St. Louis - The Saint Louis University volleyball moved into first place in Conference USA with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Houston. Game scores were 30-32, 30-23, 27-30, 30-27, 15-12. The victory was the fifth in a row for the Billikens. Billiken middle hitter Colleen Hunter (Cor Jesu) had a triple-double with 30 kills, 15 digs and 10 blocks. In addition, she became just the third player in league history to tally 2,000 kills in a career. Hunter's heroics were need to offset Houston's Jenny Tanneberger who tied the C-USA record for kills in a match with 41.

In the deciding fifth game,the Billikens rallied from an early deficit to take the match. Houston jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but Hunter had two kills and a Houston hitting error tied the game 5-5. SLU eventually took an 8-6 lead, but the Cougars quickly tied the game. In an outstanding display of offense by both teams, each team scored on each subsequent sideout chance until the contest was tied 12-12. However, the Billikens tallied three straight to end the match. Brooke Minniear lunged to hit a ball down the line to put the Billikens up 13-12. Houston had a swing to tie the match, but Ember Knobeloch and Beth Middendorf teammed up for a block to push the Billikens to match point. After three attempts by both teams, Knobeloch drilled a ball to the back of Houston's defense to close out the match.

Freshman Brooke Minniear had 18 digs. Tanneberger's 41 kills tied the C-USA record first set by South Florida's Michelle Collier, who had 41 kills against Louisville on Nov. 11, 2000. Three other Cougars reached double figures as Loure Dews and Jann Anne Karasek both had 13. Karasek added a match-high 19 digs. Houston had three more kills, but the Billikens edged UH in hitting percentage, .250-.223.

The Billikens are now 14-6 on the season, 4-0 in Conference USA. Houston drops to 11-5 overall, 2-1 in C-USA.