 Billikens Slash Wildcats 3-1
Sept. 19, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Saint Louis' balance trumped New Hampshire 25-18, 25-23, 23-25, 25-16 on Friday afternoon in the opening match of the Hampton Inn Penn State Classic in University Park, Pa. The Billikens (7-3), who picked up their second straight win, outhit the Wildcats .225 to .136. Kirsten Bates led the Wildcats with a double-double (14 kills, 14 digs) while Alyse Lahti contributed a team-best 21 digs. New Hampshire posted 11 blocks to the Billikens' three. Whitney Roth led the Billikens with a double-double of 43 assists and 11 digs. Megan Boken and Bridget Fonke powered the offense with 13 kills apiece, while Sally Warning also got into double figures with 11. Meanwhile, Whitney Behrens turned in a match- and season-high 22 digs of SLU's season-best 68, while Sammi McCloud added a career high-tying 19 digs to go with her eight kills. UNH (3-9) led only once during the first set, going ahead 1-0 on a Billiken service error. But SLU immediately put an end to that as it scored the next four points on a McCloud kill, two from Boken and one from Warning. The Wildcats trimmed the margin to one twice but the Bills went on another 4-0 run to extend its lead to 12-6. Saint Louis continued to extend its lead until a SLU hitting error, two Wildcats blocks and a kill put UNH right back into the set at 17-13. New Hampshire used a strong blocking presence to get as close at three points before the Billikens went on another 4-0 run to put the set out of reach. Warning led a balanced SLU attack with five kills while the Wildcats had four blocks. After scoring the opening point in the second set, SLU trailed by as many as many as three points before mounting a run midway through the set. Trailing 12-9, the Bills used kills from Fonke and Lauren Christman, a service ace and a UNH hitting error to take a 13-12 lead. But the lead was short-lived as the Wildcats battled back to score the next four points on kills from Bates and Amy Keding for a three point edge. New Hampshire held Saint Louis at bay until the Billikens mounted a comeback late in the set. SLU cut the deficit to one at 20-19 on a Fonke kill and two UNH hitting errors. The Wildcats pushed the lead back out to two points but SLU used a McCloud kill and another Wildcat hitting error to even things up at 21-21. The teams traded points before SLU scored consecutive points on a kill from Christman and another UNH hitting error. Bates posted a kill to make it 24-23 but McCloud ended it with her third kill of the set.
The Billikens played catch-up early in the third set after falling behind by as many as five points. Down 9-4, SLU scored five straight points to knot the score at 9-9. The teams again traded points, experiencing 14 ties before the completion of the set. Saint Louis' offense faltered late in the set as the Wildcats, who hit a match-best .300 in the third set, captured the win following two straight Billiken hitting errors after a 23-23 tie. Fonke led the SLU offense with six kills in set three. SLU led from the start of the fourth and final set and never looked back en route to the match victory. The Bills ran out to a 5-0 lead on a Fonke ace and two kills apiece from Boken and Warning. Three consecutive attacking errors by Saint Louis opened the door for the Wildcats at 10-9. But the Billikens quickly regained control, putting together a 6-1 run to push the lead back out to six points at 16-10. New Hampshire was not able to get closer than five points the rest of the way as SLU cruised to the win. Boken led the SLU offense, which outhit the Wildcats .299 to .000 in the set, with six kills. Tomorrow SLU faces Yale at noon before taking on No. 1 Penn State at 6 p.m. to complete the tournament. |
|
