Dec. 4, 2009

Box Score

Ames, Iowa - Saint Louis (24-8) rallied from a two-set deficit to win set three against Wichita State, but the Shockers' strong blocking was too much for the Billikens as they ended the 2009 campaign with a 20-25, 21-25, 25-18, 16-25 loss in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Ames, Iowa, on Friday evening. SLU's five seniors complete their careers as the third-winningest class in program history.

Wichita State (26-6) broke a 2-2 stalemate with a pair of tips and a Kim Wadsworth kill to claim a 5-2 edge. The Billikens got within one on three occasions before the Shockers raced out to a 14-7 advantage. A pair of SLU hitting errors sparked the rally and was followed by a pair of WSU blocks. Then Emily Stockman terminated prior to another Shocker block, which completed the run. Midway through the opening set, Bridget Fonke helped the Bills get back into the set. Wichita State was up 16-9 when Fonke posted a kill and a solo block. After a Shocker kill, Fonke terminated three straight times to bring SLU within 17-14. WSU responded by scoring the next four points to earn a 21-14 lead. Another kill from Fonke and a pair of Casey Chernin kills made it 21-17. Saint Louis committed a serving error prior to consecutive kills from Chernin and Megan Boken's kill kept SLU alive at 24-20, but a Sarah McGee kill gave the Shockers the victory. Wichita State hit .371 while limiting the Billikens to a .245 clip. Chernin led all players with six kills in the first set.

Like in the opening set, the Shockers were able to build an early lead in set two. The teams were tied at 2-2 before Saint Louis committed a serving error to ignite a Wichita State spurt. The Shockers then registered three straight blocks before McGee finished the run with a kill to make it 7-2. A kill from Boken halted the rally but WSU put the next two points on the board due to a Billiken error and another block. The Billikens got a kill from Sammi McCloud, a combo block from Whitney Roth and McCloud and two kills from Fonke to draw even at 8-8. The teams tied three more times before Wichita State broke a 12-12 deadlock with a Stockman kill and another block. The Shockers remained two to three points ahead before Saint Louis pulled even at 19-19 using kills from McCloud, Fonke and Deno. Back-to-back Wichita State hitting errors gave SLU a 20-19 edge, its first lead since it early in the set. But WSU scored the next four points to regain the 23-20 lead. Fonke posted a kill but consecutive kills from Stockman and McGee ended the set. The Shockers hit at a .213 clip, while holding Saint Louis to a .138 hitting percentage.

The Bills were the aggressor in the early part of the third set. Four different players recorded kills early as SLU rolled to a 6-4 lead. But the lead was short-lived as Wichita State came back to tie the score at 6-6 and 7-7 before going ahead by two points on consecutive kills from Katie Niggemeyer and Stockman. The Shockers built a lead of as many as three points before the Billikens rallied to even things up at 13-13. WSU kept the set even at 14-14 before Saint Louis exploded for eight straight points to go up 22-14 with McCloud at the service line. Fonke's kill sparked the rally and was followed by a Deno termination and another Fonke kill. Following a Wichita State hitting error, the Bills posted a block and McCloud served an ace. Then Roth and Fonke collected consecutive kills to complete the run. The Shockers would score just four points the rest of the way and Boken completed the set with a kill as SLU earned the set-three victory. The Bills hit a match-best .472 in set three and held WSU to a .235 hitting percentage. Deno led all players with five kills.

WSU grabbed the lead from the start of the fourth set, while the Bills played catch up. The Shockers immediately seized the 3-0 advantage before SLU got on the board with back-to-back kills from Fonke and Roth to make it 3-2. Wichita State then scored four straight points to push out to a 6-2 lead. The Billikens got within 6-4 using kills from Chernin and McCloud before the Shockers extended its lead to four. Saint Louis trimmed the margin to two just once at 8-6 before Wichita State gradually increased its lead to six at 14-8. SLU got kills from Fonke and Chernin and an ace from Roth to make it 14-11. But the Shockers were able to build a 20-12 advantage using kills from McGee and Stockman. The Billikens could never quite catch up from there as Wichita State went on to earn the victory.

Fonke posted a team-high 15 kills to go with seven digs and three blocks, while Roth completed a double-double with 45 assists and 13 digs. Deno collected 12 kills and Chernin posted a career-high 12 kills, while McCloud added eight kills, 14 digs and two blocks. Whitney Behrens registered a team-high 18 digs, and Boken tallied 14 digs along with seven kills.