Sept. 29, 2002

Final Stats

New Orleans, La. - Senior middle hitter Colleen Hunter drilled a season-high 31 kills as the Saint Louis volleyball team held off a furious rally by Tulane for a 3-2 in the Conference USA opener for both squads. The match was originally to be played yesterday, but was delayed one day due to weather difficulties in New Orleans because of tropical storm Isadore.

The Billikens opened quickly in taking a 2-0 lead in the match. SLU won game one by a 30-23 margin and came back and duplicated the effort in game two with another seven-point win. Tulane rallied in games three and four to force a decisive fifth game. The Green Wave took both games rather easily, winning by nine points in each. Tulane took the momentum of their two straight wins and grabbed an early lead in game five. The Billikens used their defense and came right back with three straigh blocks. SLU took advantage of a Tulane serivce error and played well down the stretch to win the match with a 15-12 decision.

Colleen Hunter posted a match-best 31 kills to pace the Billikens and had a double-double with 10 digs, but was the only SLU player in double figures. Brooke Minniear had 20 digs while Missy Werges added 10 digs. The Green Wave actually had 16 more kills than the Billikens, but hurt themselves with 34 hitting errors. SLU had a higher kill percentage than the Wave.

The Billikens improve to 10-6 overall, 1-0 in Conference USA. Tulane dips to 7-9 overall, 0-1 in C-USA. The Bills are next in action at home this Wed., Oct. 2, when the welcome Eastern Illinois to Bauman-Eberhardt Center. The nonconference tilt will be televised live by Charter Communications beginning at 7 p.m. in the St. Louis area.