TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The Saint Louis University volleyball team picked up a win in its first match of the season Friday morning, marking head coach Andrea Beaty's first victory as the Billiken's head coach. 

RESULTS 

Saint Louis 3, Mercer 2 (20-25, 25-21, 25-18, 24-26, 15-11) 
Friday, August 25, 2023 | Foster Auditorium (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) 

MATCH DETAILS 

• Saint Louis defeated Mercer in five sets Friday morning in the Crimson Tide Invitational in Tuscaloosa, Ala., to pick up a victory in the team's first match of the season.
• The win marked head coach Andrea Beaty's first as the Billiken head coach.
• After going down one set, SLU rallied in the second and third sets to take a 2-1 advantage heading into set four. The Billikens dropped set four in a close 26-24 loss, before rallying to take the final set (15-11) and match (3-2) against Mercer.
• The Billikens went down 4-0 to start the final set but battled their way back to end the set on a 3-0 scoring run to claim the match.  

MATCH NOTABLES 

• Emily Henken registered a match high 19 kills while three other Billikens (Kayla Richardson, Delaney Rice and Jillian Mattingly) reached double digit numbers as well.
• Carlie Rodgers and Emily Henken combined for 26 of SLU's 48 digs in the match. The duo also combined for seven service aces with Rodgers recording three and Henken adding four.
• The Billikens compiled a hitting percentage of .234 during the five-set match while Mercer hit .197.
• SLU's 11 service aces more than doubled the Bears' five.
• Freshman Trinity Luckett recorded a team-high six blocks for the Billikens in her Saint Louis debut.