RESULTS
No. 24 Western Kentucky 3, Saint Louis 0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-12)
Evansville 3, Saint Louis 2 (21-25, 25-23, 11-25, 25-22, 15-12)
Sunday, Jan. 31 | Bowling Green, Ky.

THE BASICS
• Saint Louis (0-2) came up short in its first two matches of the season Sunday, falling to both No. 24 Western Kentucky and Evansville in Bowling Green, Ky.
• WKU took all three sets from the Billikens to improve to 4-0 on the year.
• SLU led Evansville 2-1 after three games, but the Purple Aces came back to win sets four and five to go to 2-1 on the season.

Western Kentucky Match

FIRST SET
• Saint Louis jumped on top early, taking a two-point lead at 5-3, but following a 6-6 tie, WKU went on a 5-0 run and never looked back.
• The Hilltoppers took the set 25-17.

SECOND SET
• The second frame featured a back-and-forth battle almost from start to finish. With the first being at 9-9, the set saw 14 tie scores, in addition to a total of 10 lead changes.
• SLU held its largest lead at 9-5, but following the 9-9 tie score, neither team again went up by more than two points.
• The Billikens got it to set point at 24-23, but WKU was able to rattle off three consecutive points.

THIRD SET
• WKU controlled the frame from the start to finish, taking its largest lead of the match at the 25-12 final score.

NOTABLE
• Sara Daniels hit for a career-high .600 attack percentage, earning six kills on 10 attempts and no errors.
• Carlie Rodgers tied a game high of 10 digs in her Billiken debut. She also added three assists and one service ace.
• Kennedy Cordia collected 20 assists, while also tacking on three kills on four attempts.

Evansville Match

FIRST SET
• After SLU pulled ahead 7-4, Evansville fought its way back to take a 10-9 advantage.
• Following an 18-17 UE lead, the Billikens snagged eight of the last 11 points to take the first set 25-21.

SECOND SET
• SLU controlled the majority of the frame, holding a lead as big as six at 14-8.
• UE knotted things back up at 18-18, but the Billikens earned the next two points, putting them back in front.
• The Purple Aces then rattled off four in a row to take their first advantage in the frame since being up 1-0. 
• Daniels tied a career high with her 11th kill in the match to square the game at 23, but UE recorded the final two points to win the set 25-23.

THIRD SET
• Saint Louis was in control from the start, taking 12 of the first 13 points and earning a 12-1 lead.
• Evansville pulled back within eight at 17-9, but SLU answered with the next four points, taking a 21-9 advantage.
• The Billikens won the set 25-11.

FOURTH SET
• Following a 6-6 tie, the Billikens grabbed five of the proceeding seven points and forced and Evansville timeout at 11-8.
• At a 19-15 SLU lead, UE rattled off seven points in a row to take a 22-19 advantage. The Purple Aces would hold on to win the set 25-22.

FIFTH SET

• Three early kills from Maya Taylor helped the Billikens to a 4-2 lead to begin the deciding game.
• SLU continued to hold the advantage at 8-7, but four-straight UE points put the Purple Aces on top 11-8.
• Evansville went on to win the frame 15-12 and the match 3-2.

NOTABLE
• Taylor had a match-high 22 kills, along with eight digs.
• Daniels recorded a career-high 14 kills, while also contributing five block assists and three service aces.
• Freshman Rodgers tallied 30 digs, five service aces and four assists.
• Kennedy Cordia had 49 assists, three service aces and seven digs.
• Freshman Jillian Mattingly hit for a match-best .346 attack percentage, on her way to 11 kills.

UP NEXT
Saint Louis opens Atlantic 10 Conference play, visiting VCU Feb. 5 and Davidson Feb. 6