ST. LOUIS – The Saint Louis University volleyball team dropped a five-set thriller here Friday night falling to VCU in the team's conference opener. After rallying from a two-set deficit against the Rams, the Billikens weren't able to muscle out the win, falling 3-2. 
 
The loss drops the Billikens to 7-6 on the year while VCU moves to 4-7.
 
Set one was a battle on both sides of the net, as the Billikens and Rams saw four lead changes and six ties mark the opening set in Chaifetz Pavilion. The Billikens hung tough on the defensive side, recording four blocks after averaging 1.81 per set in their first 12 matches. The Rams pulled away, though, winning the race to 25 to take set one. 
 
In the second set, the Rams were dominant, racing out to an early 10-3 lead off a 7-0 run. The Billikens wouldn't go down easy, though, rattling off a 3-0 run of their own to force a VCU timeout and pull within seven. It wasn't enough as VCU took set two, 25-15. 
 
In the third, SLU battled. After going down 17-12, the Billikens dug themselves out of the deficit point by point. Riding the momentum, SLU rattled off four-straight points to take the set, 25-22, and pull the match to 2-1. 
 
SLU sprinted out 12-4 lead sparked by a 5-0 run early in the fourth set. From there it was all Billikens, swinging .258 with 12 kills. The Rams tried to rally, but SLU forced a fifth set with a 25-16 win. 

The fifth set followed suit, as the teams exchanged three lead changes. The Billikens weren't able to finish off the comeback, falling 15-11 to drop the match 3-2.
 
Delaney Rice led the Billikens' offensive attack with 19 kills on .400 hitting, setting a new career high. The double-digit performance was the senior's 10th of the season. Jillian Mattingly also had a doube-digit night, adding 14 of SLU's 55 kills. 
 
With a season-high 29 digs, Carlie Rodgers not only led SLU's defensive efforts, but the senior moved into second-all time in the category with 1,493 total digs. Four aces from the service line tied the senior's season high, as well as the Billikens totaled eight on the evening. 

Last season, Raising Canes teamed up with the SLU volleyball team to donate $25 to the Billiken Bounty for every ace recorded during home conferences matches. The Billikens tallied 56 aces last season for a total donation amount of $1,400! Thank you, Raising Canes for your commitment to SLU Volleyball and the Billiken Bounty.
 
The Billikens will be back in action against the Rams tomorrow at 2 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.