Sept. 15, 2007

Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. - Saint Louis suffered its worst loss of the season in game two, ultimately falling to Northwestern 26-30, 15-30, 30-28, 20-30 at the Wildcat Classic in Evanston, Ill.

The Bills (10-3) got off to a 4-1 start in game one before Northwestern tied it at 6-6. The teams then tied at points eight through 13 before SLU built a four-point lead, its largest of the game, at 19-15. But Northwestern chipped away at the lead, tying and eventually taking the lead at 24-23. Saint Louis evened things up at 24-24 and 25-25, but NU put the game with a pair of kills sandwiched around two service aces for the victory. Lauren Christman and Sutton Lasater led SLU with five kills apiece. Northwestern hit .293 to the Billikens' .214.

Northwestern (9-2), which has won seven straight matches, controlled the pace of game two. The Wildcats reeled off 11 straight points on four kills, four blocks and three SLU miscues for a 15-4 lead. The Bills then tried to halt NU's momentum but they got no closer than six points as the Cats handed SLU its worst loss of the season. Northwestern amassed eight blocks and hit at a .419 clip while SLU hit at a negative percentage.

Saint Louis came out for game three with more fire than it had shown all game two. The teams tied at points seven through 10 before the Billikens built a slight lead, eventually pushing it to the largest margin of the game at 25-18. Northwestern answered with a run of its own cutting SLU's lead to one on four occasions but SLU managed to escape with a 30-28 victory. Lasater led the Bills with six kills and a .714 hitting percentage in game three.

NU came on strong in game four, building a lead and sustaining it throughout for the match victory. Bridget Fonke and Lasater each had 15 kills for the Billikens while Whitney Roth posted a double-double with 43 assists and 10 digs.

SLU returns to the court on Friday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. (CT) for its first Atlantic 10 Conference match of the season at Dayton.