Aug. 31, 2002

Final Stats

St. Louis - The Saint Louis University volleyball team claimed the championship of the Billiken Invitational, posting a perfect 3-0 mark. On Saturday, the Billikens defeated Austin Peay 3-0 and Butler 3-2. Butler finished second with a 2-1 mark, Austin Peay placed third with a 1-2 slate, and Providence finished 0-3. Saint Louis' Colleen Hunter was named tournament MVP, while Ember Knobeloch and Beth Middendorf were named to the all-tournament team.

The Billikens swept Austin Peay by scores of 30-21, 30-21, 30-22. The Bills hit a sizzling .531 in the first game, while APSU hung in the match with 12 kills. The game was tied at 13-13 and was 20-16, before the Billikens pulled away late. Hunter notched six kills and Knobeloch five to pace SLU. The Billiken defense picked up in game two as APSU managed to hit only .000 and the Billikens notched a .379 hitting percentage. Hunter had five kills in the game and the SLU defense accounted for eight block assists. Freshman Beth Middendorf dished out 36 assists, and Sorich finished with five aces.

In what turned out to be the championship match, the Billikens rallied to down the Bulldogs in a tightly-contested match. Game scores were 30-24, 28-30, 30-16, 30-20, 15-11. The Billikens led 21-9, but Butler staged a furious comeback and closed to 27-21. Two straight kills by Colleen Hunter started the match quickly and had seven kills in game one. Brooke Minniear made five digs and added five kills. The Billikens trailed all of game two as the Bulldogs led 15-7 in the early going. Down 25-21,the Billikens eventually scored six straight points and took a 28-27 lead. But Butler tallied the last three points of the game to tie the match. Butler stormed to victory in game three, hitting a match-high .448 while the Bills hit a match-low .025. The Billikens tied the match with their own convincing win in game four. The Bills' defense was the key as they notched two solo blocks and eight block assists. In the deciding game, the Billikens scored the first three points of the game and did not relinquish the lead. But it was not easy. The Bills pushed the lead out to 10-5, but Butler rallied to make it 11-10. A Butler service error made it 12-10, and Hunter put down an errant BU pass to make it 13-10. Freshman Brooke Minniear also posted a double-double with 15 kills and a match-high 25 digs.Beth Middendorf dished out 48 assists and has gone over the 1,000 career assist mark with 1,023.

The Billikens are 3-0 on the season and host Bradley on Wed., Sept. 4, at the Bauman-Eberhardt Center.