ST. LOUIS – The Saint Louis University volleyball team closed out the regular season with a 3-2 win over George Washington on Senior Day Saturday afternoon.
The win solidifies the Billikens' way into the Atlantic 10 Conference next week beginning on Friday afternoon in Davidson, N.C.
The Billikens put together a gritty performance in a back-and-forth first set that featured 12 ties and 2 lead changes. SLU pulled away off of
Trinity Luckett's fourth kill of the day, finding separation and taking the 18-15 lead. But the visiting team did not give up, fighting off two set points, before SLU took set one, 25-23.
Set two was decided at the service line, with the teams combining for eight service aces and five service errors. Despite hitting .357 to George Washington's .348 in the second period the Revolutionaries used two late, 3-0 runs to win the race to 25.
The third set followed the same script as the opening two, with neither team able to take the edge until the Revolutionaries found themselves with the 15-10 lead. The Billikens used a 4-0 run to bring the match within one, but the Revolutionaries did not trail again, defeating the home team 25-22.
SLU bounced back in the four set, hitting .357 while holding the Revolutionaries to their second lowest percentage of the day (.226) to force a fifth set for the second-straight match. The Billikens trailed early in the fifth set, but after taking the 8-7 lead midway through, the home team did not trail, taking the final set, 15-12.
Four Billikens recorded double-digit kills with
Kayla Richardson leading the charge with a career-high 18, while
Delaney Rice put down 13 and Luckett and Mattingly recorded 12, apiece, a career-high for the freshman. Luckett and Mattingly, who hit .529 and .556 on the day, respectively, also combined for nine total blocks.
SLU concludes its regular season with a 15-15 overall record, an 8-10 conference mark, and will enter post-season play next weekend as the five seed. The Billikens will take on four-seeded Davidson in the opening match at the A-10 tournament. First serve is set for 12 p.m. CT.
