Sept. 19, 2009

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - No. 22 Saint Louis swept UC Davis 25-18, 25-18, 25-21 to claim the title of the Billiken Invitational on Saturday evening at Chaifetz Pavilion. Sammi McCloud, who was named tournament MVP, led the Billikens with 14 kills, while Bridget Fonke recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs.

Neither team led by more than one point until a Fonke kill put SLU on top 7-5. The Billikens held a 10-9 margin before scoring three straight. A UC Davis error began the run, and Whitney Behrens followed with an ace. A Fonke kill down the line made it 13-9. After an Aggie point, Megan Boken notched consecutive kills, and she teamed with McCloud for a block and a 16-10 advantage. After a UC Davis timeout, the Aggies scored a kill, but the Billikens answered with four consecutive points. McCloud pounded down two straight kills, and Boken served two aces for a 20-11 SLU lead. The Aggies made one final run and closed the gap to 22-18, but Fonke notched a kill and an ace pushed SLU to set point. Lydia Blaha and Alyssa Deno combined on a block to end the set 25-18. The Billikens were efficient on the offensive end recording a .314 hitting percentage.

The Billikens opened set two with four of the first five points, but the Aggies came back to tie the set at 5-5. The set was knotted at 9-9 but the Billikens took the lead after a kill by McCloud and a Boken ace. The Aggies tied the set at 13-13, but two straight hitting errors handed the Billikens a 15-13 advantage, and a Fonke kill made it 16-13. The Aggies scored the next point before the Billikens reeled off three straight. McCloud began the burst with a kill, and Whitney Roth tipped in a shot. The Billiken setter then worked with Blaha on a block for a 19-14 margin. A Deno kill gave the Billikens a 21-15, and SLU closed out the set on a Casey Chernin kill down the line.

UC Davis led set three 3-2 before the Billikens ripped off four straight points. McCloud bookended the run with kills around two Aggie errors for a 6-3 SLU lead. McCloud keyed the next Billiken run with an ace and a kill, and Deno's tip gave SLU a 10-6 advantage. The Aggies inched back into the set and a 4-0 run put UC Davis in front at 13-12. The Aggies built their first two-point lead of the night, but SLU tied the set at 16-16. McCloud ripped a kill from the back row and followed with an ace. A Fonke solo block built the Billiken lead to 19-16, forcing a UC Davis timeout. The Aggies came back and tied the set at 20-20. At 21-21, the Billikens reeled off four straight points to close out the match, capped by a block from McCloud and Chernin.

Melanie Adams led the Aggies with 11 kills, while Avreeta Singh recorded a match-high 17 digs. The Billikens, who improved to 7-5, hit .252 for the match while holding UC Davis to a .138 percentage. The Aggies fall to 9-5 on the year.

In the fifth match of the tournament, SIU Edwardsville recorded its first victory of the season with a five-set decision over Toledo, 25-18, 25-19, 21-25, 21-25, 15-13. Sydney led the Cougars with 14 kills and 18 digs, while Karie Downing also recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 14 digs. Stephanie Kersting led the Rockets with 21 kills, while Amber DeWeerdt added 17. Jessica Dhoore finished with a match-high 21 digs. The Cougars are now 1-14 on the season, while the Rockets fall to 9-3.

The All-Tournament team consisted of McCloud (MVP), Fonke and Roth from Saint Louis, Adams and Singh from UC Davis and Sydney from SIUE.