Nov. 6, 2009

Box Score

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Charlotte hit better overall than No. 21 Saint Louis and held a 10-2 advantage in blocks, but the Billikens came through in the clutch to pull out a 25-23, 26-24, 25-20 Atlantic 10 Conference victory on the road Friday evening. SLU, which remains tied atop the A-10 standings with Dayton, improves to 18-6 overall, 11-1 in league play. The 49ers, who dropped their sixth straight match in the series vs. the Bills, fall to 15-13 overall, 6-6 in conference matches.

Bridget Fonke collected a match-high 18 kills to go with seven digs, while Whitney Roth tallied 37 assists, six digs and two service aces, and Whitney Behrens registered a team-best 18 digs.

The Billikens were slow getting out of the gate in the opening set, falling behind by as many as five points after Charlotte scored four straight points to earn a 7-2 lead. The teams swapped points before SLU cut the deficit to 8-7 on a pair of 49er miscues and kills from Deno and Fonke. But two Billikens hitting errors bookended a pair of Charlotte kills that allowed the 49ers to go up 12-7. Three kills from Fonke spurred a 5-0 Saint Louis run that knotted the score at 12-12. After four ties brought the set to 18-18, Fonke recorded back-to-back kills and Sammi McCloud served an ace to put SLU on top 21-18. SLU was clinging to a 21-20 lead when McCloud left the match due to an injury after diving for a loose ball. Fonke terminated to make it a two-point game at 22-20 but the 49ers took advantage of consecutive hitting errors by the Billikens to tie things up at 22-22. After a timeout Fonke tallied a kill and a kill from Megan Boken gave Saint Louis its first shot at set point. Charlotte's Bianca Rouse posted a kill to draw her team within one at 24-23, but a 49er service error ended the set in SLU's favor. Fonke led all players with nine kills and sizzling .529 hitting percentage, though Charlotte had a better set overall offensively. The 49ers hit at a .355 rate with just one error compared to SLU's .268 hitting percentage that included eight hitting errors.

Casey Chernin scored on a pair of kills and Deno added one to help Saint Louis stake its way to a 3-1 lead in the second set. Charlotte responded with five straight points as its blocking front came to life. After a pair of Billiken hitting errors, the 49ers blocked SLU's next three attempts to claim a 6-3 advantage. Boken's kill finally halted the spurt before Kat Hicks posted a solo block to make it 7-4. The Billikens slowly worked their way back eventually recording consecutive points on a 49er serving error and kill from Sally Warning to bring the set to an 11-11 stalemate. SLU led 13-12 when Charlotte exploded for six straight points powered by two kills and block by Kara Raker. Trailing 18-13, the Bills were not about to go away quietly as they mounted a 5-0 charge of their own that retied the score at 18-18. A kill from Deno ignited the rally and was followed by three 49er mistakes before Boken ended the spurt with a kill. Charlotte Jenna Litoborski connected for a kill to put her team up by one, but Fonke and Roth gave the lead right back to SLU at 20-19 with consecutive kills. A Billiken service error briefly halted the scoring before Fonke sandwiched a pair of kills around a 49er hitting error to make it 23-20. Charlotte scored four of the next five points to forge a 24-24 tie. But a kill from Fonke and a combo block from Warning and Chernin helped Saint Louis claim a two-set lead. Both teams struggled offensively, committing eight errors apiece. Fonke again led all players in kills with six.

Saint Louis took on the role of the aggressor in the final set unlike in the first two sets. The Billikens managed to build a 9-6 lead due in large part to the play of Warning. She helped SLU score its first three points on two kills and a combo block with Boken. The 49ers' Sheri Davis notched a kill to spark a 4-0 run that helped her team seize the lead at 10-9. The teams traded points from there before the Bills went up 16-13 courtesy of a four-point charge that included a pair of kills from Chernin and a Behrens service ace. Four of the next six points went to Saint Louis as it raced out to a 20-15 lead. Consecutive terminations from Davis and Jennifer Webb preceded a 3-0 spurt by the Billikens that gave SLU a 23-17 advantage. Webb and Warning traded kills to give SLU its first shot at set point. Rouse scored back-to-back kills to trim the margin to four but another 49er serving error gave Saint Louis the win. Both teams collected 13 kills and four errors in the final set but with fewer attempts the Bills out-hit Charlotte .265 to .243.