Box Score ST. LOUIS - Andrea Beaty and Alyssa Deno combined for 34 kills, and five Saint Louis players
reached double digits in digs in a 25-20, 25-23, 12-25, 25-17 Billiken victory
over Xavier Friday night in an Atlantic 10 Conference match at Chaifetz Arena.
The victory pulled the Billikens (14-10, 10-4 A-10) into a second-place
tie with Xavier (18-10, 10-4 A-10) with one regular-season match to play. Saint
Louis hosts league leader Dayton Sunday at noon, while Xavier travels to
Philadelphia to face Temple.
Beaty and Deno tallied 18 and 16 kills, respectively, and Carly Marcum contributed nine. Grace Bonoma led SLU with 19 digs,
followed by Deno with 17 and Cassie
Clarke, Ashley Gaillot and Andrea Bolt with 11 apiece. Marcum and Lauren Baumet collected five blocks
apiece, and Clarke had 44 assists.
After Xavier took a 5-3 lead in set one, Saint Louis used a 7-2 run to
go on top 10-7. The Musketeers bounced back to forge a 12-all tie, and four
more deadlocks followed. The Billikens started to take control with three
consecutive points for a 19-16 lead, and Xavier never got closer than two
points the rest of the way.
Xavier pulled out to an 11-6 advantage in set two, only to see Saint
Louis turn the tables with an 11-5 spurt for a 17-16 edge. The Musketeers tied
it at 17, but the Billikens registered the next three points. After Xavier
chipped away and earned a 22-22 stalemate, two straight Beaty kills restored
order for the Bills, and a Deno kill clinched the set.
In set three, a 5-0 Xavier run turned a 10-7 lead into a 15-7 cushion. The
Musketeers breezed to a victory and carried the momentum into set four, racing
to a quick 6-1 advantage.
However, three kills by Beaty gave Saint Louis
new life, sparking an 11-3 flurry that ended with the Billikens in front 12-9.
Xavier answered with three straight points to pull even, but back-to-back kills
by Marcum ignited a 13-5 outburst that finished the set. The Bills scored the
final five points, including three more Marcum kills in succession.
