Sept. 14, 2007

Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. - Armed with a strong hitting and blocking effort, Saint Louis downed Drake 30-17, 30-14, 30-25 in its second match at the Wildcat Classic in Evanston, Ill. The Billikens hit .343 for the match while holding the Bulldogs to a .065 attack percentage.

"I'm really proud of how our players came out and took care of business," SLU head coach Anne Kordes said. "Bridget Fonke was incredible from the outside, and Whitney Roth has been solid for this whole tournament. Now we're just looking to keep that momentum going against Northwestern tomorrow."

SLU (10-2) dominated play from the outset with their actions resulting in 10 of the first 11 points of game one. Bridget Fonke six kills, hit .419 while holding the Bulldogs to a .100 clip.

Drake (2-8) took the early lead in game two but it wasn't long before the Bills came charging back. Consecutive kills by Fonke and McCloud followed by a Fonke service ace and a solo block by Lauren Christman gave SLU a 6-3 edge. Saint Louis continued to build on its lead, ending with a 30-14 victory. The Bills, who hit .333 with four blocks and five service aces, held Drake to a negative attack percentage in game two.

The Bulldogs put up their biggest fight in game three, earning their largest lead of the match. They took advantage of Saint Louis mistakes for an early 9-7 lead. But Megan Boken helped the Billikens recapture it with three straight kills for a 10-9 edge. The teams traded points midway through the game, enduring five ties before SLU pulled for good.

Whitney Behrens led the SLU defense with 17 digs while Fonke led the offense with 17 kills. Sutton Lasater also reached double-digit kills with 10 and had a season-high nine blocks. Saint Louis recorded 11 blocks in the match, just one shy of its season high. Angela Bys led Drake with 11 kills.

Tomorrow the Billikens wrap up the tournament with a match against host Northwestern at 2:30 p.m.