ST. LOUIS - Alyssa Deno registered a match-high 21 kills, but Fordham won close decisions in the final two sets and claimed a 26-24, 16-25, 16-25, 25-23, 15-12 victory over Saint Louis Friday night at Chaifetz Pavilion.

Andrea Beaty and Carly Marcum tallied 11 and 10 kills, respectively, for the Billikens (11-9, 7-3 Atlantic 10). Grace Bonoma had 12 digs and Marcum contributed 11 blocks to lead the defensive effort as Saint Louis recorded 17 blocks.

SLU overcame a 17-11 deficit in the opening set to take a 24-23 lead, but Fordham (6-19, 3-7 A-10) scored three straight points to take a 1-0 edge in the match.

The Billikens pulled out to an 18-8 lead in set two before the Rams went on a 7-0 run. However, Saint Louis responded with a 7-1 spurt of its own to win the set and even the match. In set three, an 8-2 flurry put SLU in command 18-9, and the Bills went on to take a 2-1 lead.

Set four was close early before Fordham went on top 17-11. The Billikens gradually chipped away and trailed by just a point on two occasions late, but the Rams held on to even the match.

In the deciding set, SLU narrowed an 11-7 Fordham advantage to 11-10 before the Rams scored the next two points to regain command en route to the victory.