ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis volleyball won it's second consecutive tournament by defeating Canisius 3-1 (18-25, 25-19, 25-12, 25-19) and Air Force 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20) to win the Billiken Invitational. With the victories, SLU has won seven straight, the longest win streak since the Billikens won eight in a row in 2010. Saint Louis is now 8-3 on the year.

"I think we had to fight in both matches," Saint Louis head volleyball coach Kent MIller said. "We started slowly this morning, but we battled and played tough to beat Canisius. Then, we knew Air Force was ready for us and gave us a competitive match. It was a bit of a see-saw match with both teams trying to gain the upper hand, but in the end we were able to get the win."

In the first match of the day, SLU took on Canisius. The Billikens were led by their middle blockers, freshman Lauren Leverenz and sophomore Taylor Paulson. Levenenz had a match-high 14 kills and a .500 attack percentage on 22 attempts. She also tallied three aces over the four sets. Paulson notched 13 kills on 23 attempts for a .478 attack percentage. Megan Gilbert also tallied double-digit kills with 10 (.318 attack percentage).

In the Billikens' second match of the day, they matched up with the Air Force Academy. Gilbert was a force at the net with 15 kills and only one error over 26 attempts (.538 attack percentage). Freshman Nenye Okoro also recorded 15 kills to tie Gilbert for match-high honors. Danielle Rygelski had 12 kills and 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Setter Meredith Boe had 57 assists in the contest. As a team, SLU had an attack percentage of .336.

Gilbert was named the Billiken Invitational's Most Outstanding Player. She had 35 kills (3.18 per set) and a .389 attack percentage over three matches. 

"She is really the heart of a lot of what we do on offense," Miller said on Gilbert. "It's nice to see her break loose and have a great tournament. She's really tough to stop. We know our opponents do a lot of scouting on her and she's been able to overcome that and play at a high level."

In addition to Gilbert, Rygelski (33 kills, 21 digs) and Paulson (24 kills, 10 blocks, .396 attack percentage) also earned All-Tournament accolades.

Next up for the Billikens is the Active Ankle Challenge in West Lafayette, Ind. Saint Louis will play Purdue, Notre Dame and Morehead State on Sept. 19-20.