THIS WEEK: Saint
Louis volleyball (10-18, 4-9 A-10) heads to Indianapolis, Ind. on Nov. 10 to take on
Butler (16-11, 6-7 A-10) in the Billikens final Atlantic 10 meeting of the 2012
season.The match is slated to begin at 4 p.m.
ABOUT THE BILLIKENS: Carly Marcum
leads the Billikens in kills with 242. Lauren Baumet boasts a team-best 2.54
kills per set and Marcum hits at a 2.35 clip. Megan Gilbert (226, 2.19 per set) and Lindsey Dinkelacker (148, 2.14 per set) are
battling for the third spot. Grace
Bonoma leads the team with 476 digs (4.62 per set), followed by Cassie Clarke (261, 2.56 per set), Anna Church (250, 2.58 per set), Dinkelacker (187, 2.71 per set) and Andrea Bolt (215, 2.11 per set). Marcum
sets the pace in blocks (109, 1.06 per set) and is joined by Gilbert (63, 0.61
per set) and Baumet (51, 0.55 per set) in the top three. Clarke averages 9.10
assists per set and owns a .361 attack percentage, while Church owns the team
lead in service aces with 24.
SEEING TRIPLE:
Senior Cassie Clarke posted the
first Billiken triple-double (43A, 14D, 11K) since 2006 en route to a 3-1
victory over Eastern Illinois on Oct. 23. Billiken great Sammi McCloud recorded
the last triple-double.
BONOMA CLIMBS ALL-TIME LIST: Grace Bonoma
became the 15th player in Billiken history to amass 1,000 digs during the third
set against Dayton on Oct. 19. Entering the weekend, Bonoma has 1,079 digs in
her career, tying her for 10th on the Saint Louis all-time list. Whitney
Behrens owns the career record with 1,685 digs from 2006-09.
BILLIKENS IN THE A-10 STATS: Saint
Louis ranks second in the Atlantic 10 Conference in digs (17.11 per set).
Individually, Grace Bonoma is third in digs (4.62 per set),
Cassie Clarke is fourth in attack percentage
(.361) and Carly Marcum is seventh
in blocks (1.06 per set). In A-10 matches only, SLU ranks among the top three
of the league in digs (third, 17.52 per set). Bonoma is third in digs (4.96 per
set).
LAST WEEK: The
Billikens split a pair of A-10 contests at home, falling 3-2 to Temple on Nov.
2, and swept La Salle, 3-0 on Nov. 3.
A LOOK AT BUTLER: The
Bulldogs have solid defense at the net, ranking second in the A-10 in blocks
per set at 3.05. Butler also has held opponents to a .161 hitting percentage,
third-best in the conference. Leading the charge is Erica Stahl, whose 148
blocks (1.53 per set) is second in the A-10. Claire Randich is fourth in the
conference with 111 blocks (1.18 per set). Butler is the best serving team in
the A-10 with 1.48 service aces per set.
WEEKLY AWARDS:
Freshman middle blocker Megan Gilbert
was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week for the week of Oct. 22-28. During
the week, Gilbert was a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the net. She
led the Bills with 37 kills (3.08 per set) and a .478 hitting percentage.
Defensively, she recorded 14 blocks (1.17 per set).
ALL-TOURNAMENT ACCOLADES: Cassie
Clarke has been selected to two All-Tournament teams this season.
Clarke was tabbed for the honor at SLU's Active Ankle Challenge and at
Northwestern's Wildcat Classic. Grace
Bonoma made the All-Tournament squad at SLU's Marcia E. Hamilton Classic,
while Lindsey Dinkelacker collected an
All-Tournament nod at the Active Ankle Challenge.
HEAD COACH KENT MILLER: Head
coach Kent Miller is in his second season at Saint
Louis. Miller, who came to SLU after serving two seasons as an assistant at
Illinois, spent 12 years as head coach at Toledo. In two seasons with the
Fighting Illini, he helped the team reach two Sweet 16s and post a 50-15
record. Miller played a significant role in the Illini reaching a No. 3
national ranking, and he coached four AVCA All-Americans, one Academic
All-American and six All-Big Ten selections during his tenure. Prior to
Illinois, Miller recorded 136 wins in 12 years as head coach of Toledo.
Inheriting a program that had finished with only two winning seasons in 17
years, he rebuilt the Rockets into a contender in the Mid-American Conference.
Miller's teams also were successful in the classroom as the Rockets earned nine
AVCA team academic achievement awards. He coached Kate Bean, who became the
first UT volleyball student-athlete to earn ESPN
The Magazine Academic All-America first-team honors in 2005 and 2006. In
addition, Miller has vast experience on the international volleyball scene. He
was an assistant on the USA National Team from 1987-96. With the USA Women's
Olympic Squad, Miller was an assistant on the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Team that
won the bronze medal. Miller is aided this season by assistant coaches Ben Spurlock and Sue Webber
and volunteer assistant Kyle Homeyer.
COMING UP: Saint
Louis wraps up the 2013 season with a match against the Jayhawks of Kansas in
Lawrence.
