DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Saint Louis University volleyball team's comeback fell short here Friday night, as the Billikens dropped a hard-fought five-set match to Davidson on the road.
 
The Billikens went down early on in the match against the Wildcats, compiling 26 kills through the first two sets to the home team's 32.
 
SLU fought back in the third set of the Atlantic 10 Conference matchup trading leads with Davidson. The Billikens pulled away late in the set, with a 5-0 run helping solidify the 25-23 win to force a fourth set. 
 
SLU rode its momentum through the fourth set, riding a .270 swinging percentage and 15 kills. The Billikens did not trail, and fought through a 24-24 tie, taking the 26-24 win off kills from Jillian Mattingly and Emily Henken.
 
The Billikens started off strong in the decisive fifth set before a 4-0 run from the wildcats tied it up at 13, apiece. A final 3-0 one from the Wildcats was the difference maker, as Davidson earned the victory in five sets to move to 16-9 overall and 8-7 in A-10 play. 
 
Delaney Rice (18), Henken (15), Mattingly (13) and Kayla Richardson (12) reached double-digit kills in the Friday night match while Addie Lyon's 42 assists led the Billikens. Henken and Lyon recorded their sixth and fourth double-double of the season with the addition of 15 and 14 digs, respectively. 
 
The Billikens will be back in action Saturday at 3 p.m. for their series finale against the Wildcats.