 Billikens Seek Second A-10 Championship Crown
Nov. 19, 2008
This Week: No. 21 Saint Louis will vie for its second Atlantic 10 Conference Volleyball Championship title this weekend at Chaifetz Pavilion. The Billikens (24-4), who are riding a 16-match winning streak, earned the tournament's top seed and a first-round bye after capturing the A-10 West regular-season title with a 13-0 record. SLU, which has dropped only two sets at Chaifetz Pavilion, will play in the semifinals at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22, against an opponent to be determined. SLU To Host 2008 A-10 Championship: Chaifetz Pavilion is the site of the 2008 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Championship. Six teams will compete for the crown and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. No. 3 George Washington (18-9) and No. 6 Fordham (18-15) open the tournament with a 5:30 p.m. (CT) match on Friday, Nov. 21. At 8 p.m., No. 4 Xavier (15-13) will take on No. 5 Temple (15-13). Saturday, Dayton (20-10) will play the highest remaining seed at 5:30 pm. Saint Louis will then square off against the lowest remaining seed at 8 p.m. Sunday's title match is slated for 1 p.m. Following the Action: The 2008 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Championship at Chaifetz Pavilion will be video streamed live on the Internet via Billiken All-Access at www.slubillikens.com. Subscriptions are available for $79.95 annually or $9.95 a month. GameTracker will be available for all matches free of charge. Ticket Information: Tickets for each day of the 2008 Atlantic 10 Conference Volleyball Championship are $6 for adults, $3 for youth (18 and under) and senior citizens, and $3 for students of A-10 schools with proper identification. Groups of eight or more that purchase tickets in advance will be charged $3 per ticket per day. An all-session pass for adults is available for $15. Please contact the SLU ticket office at (314) 977-4SLU (4758) for more information or to purchase tickets. Last Time Out: The Billikens defeated Dayton 3-1 in Ohio to claim their first outright A-10 regular-season title last Saturday. With the win, SLU also captured the No. 1 seed for the league championship. Sunday, the Bills capped a perfect conference season with a 3-0 victory at Xavier. The win, SLU's 24th of the season, gave the Billikens the most wins they have had since the 1996 campaign.
About the Billikens: SLU, which is enjoying its third straight 20-win season, has won 19 of its last 20 matches, including a program-best 16 straight. The Bills' only loss during that stretch was at top-ranked Penn State on Sept. 20. Fourteen of Saint Louis' 24 wins have been shutouts. Junior right-side hitter Sammi McCloud leads the team with 3.48 kills per set, while junior outside hitter Bridget Fonke trails with 3.39 kills per set. Meanwhile, junior setter Whitney Roth, SLU's career assists leader, runs a balanced offense with 11.22 assists per set. Junior middle blocker Sally Warning (1.05 blocks per set) provides the Billikens with a strong presence at the net, while junior libero Whitney Behrens (3.32 digs per set) is Saint Louis' top back-row defender. Saint Louis is enjoying one of the most successful seasons in program history. About the Field: Top-seeded Saint Louis will open the tournament against the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals at 8 p.m. on Saturday. Though the seeds are different, the Championship field is the same as in 2007. Second-seeded Dayton, which suffered its only A-10 losses to the Billikens, will face SLU only if both teams advance to Sunday's title match. The Bills, who defeated the Flyers twice this season, lead the series 14-11. UD has won four of the last five A-10 Championships. SLU, which blanked third-seeded George Washington in their only meeting this season, leads the series 6-1. Fourth-seeded Xavier suffered a pair of 3-0 losses to Saint Louis this season. The Billikens lead the series 13-10. Fifth-seeded Temple, which is making its 13th straight appearance in the tournament, lost to SLU 3-1 this season. Saint Louis leads the series 5-1. Sixth-seeded Fordham is the only team to force five sets against the Bills this season. SLU leads the series 5-0. Bills Earn RPI Ranking: Saint Louis is ranked No. 9 in the final NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI (Nov. 9) before the NCAA Championship. The RPI is based on the win percentage of SLU, its opponents and the teams SLU's opponents have played. Five of SLU's opponents are ranked in the top 14. The Billikens are the only A-10 school in the top 40. Polling Place: Armed with a 16-match winning streak, Saint Louis continues to maintain its position in the Bison/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll. This week, the Billikens earned 295 points for the No. 21 spot in the poll. The Bills have earned votes in every poll this season, ultimately breaking into the Top 25 for the first time in program history on Oct. 20 in the 25th spot. On the National Stage: The Billikens are ranked among the nation's top 30 in four statistical categories. SLU is ranked 13th in winning percentage (.857), 21st in kills per set (14.04), 25th in assists per set (12.92) and 27th in hitting percentage (.257). Individually, Whitney Roth is ranked 19th with 11.22 assists per set, while Bridget Fonke is 24th with 0.45 aces per set. Reaping the Rewards: SLU has been awarded a league-high seven A-10 Player of the Week plaudits this season. Sammi McCloud has earned the honor a league-leading four times (Sept. 8, Oct. 13, Nov. 10 and Nov. 17), while Whitney Roth (Sept. 22), Sally Warning (Sept. 29) and Bridget Fonke (Oct. 27) have each picked up one accolade. Xavier trails with four honorees, while McCloud is the only player who has earned the honor more than twice. Schedule Strength: Five teams on SLU's 2008 schedule earned votes in this week's Top 25 poll. Reigning national champion Penn State (28-0) earned top billing, while Stanford (22-3) stayed at No. 2. Big Ten foes Illinois (20-7) and Purdue (21-7) came in at No. 16 and 18, respectively, while Utah (20-5) is No. 22. The Bills have faced four ranked teams thus far in 2008, the most they have ever played in a season. Saint Louis is 1-3 against those teams. Conference Call: The Billikens are 40-12 all-time (.769) in Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season matches, including a 22-4 mark at home. Dayton (three times) and Xavier are the only league members to claim wins on the Bills' home court since Saint Louis joined the league prior to the 2005 campaign. SLU has finished third or better each season it has been in the league. The Four Tops: Four Saint Louis juniors already rank among the program's top 10 in various statistical categories. Setter Whitney Roth is the program's career assists leader with 4,060 and counting, while libero Whitney Behrens ranks fourth with 1,269 career digs. Outside hitter Bridget Fonke is tied for ninth on the career chart with 107 service aces, while right-side hitter Sammi McCloud is 10th on the career kills (1,017) and points (1201.0) lists. Roth Rolls: Junior Whitney Roth is the first player in the history of the program to surpass 4,000 career assists. SLU's career assists leader reached the milestone last weekend after turning in 54 assists at Dayton and 32 at Xavier for a total of 4,060. Shelly Metzler ranks second on the career list with 3,284 assists. Hey, You, Get Off of Mc-Cloud: With 18 kills at Dayton last weekend, junior Sammi McCloud became the 10th member of SLU's 1,000-dig club. She is only the sixth Billiken to compile 1,000 kills prior to her fourth season. McCloud ranks No. 10 on Saint Louis' career kills chart with 1,017 kills. Behr-ing Down: Junior libero Whitney Behrens ranks fourth on Saint Louis' career digs chart (1,269). She is only the third Billiken to eclipse 1,000 digs in fewer than three complete seasons. Leaders of the Pack: Like last season, juniors Whitney Roth and Bridget Fonke lead the league in assists and service aces per set, respectively. Roth ranks 19th in the nation and first in the A-10 with 11.22 assists per set, while Fonke leads the league with 0.45 service aces per set. SLU leads the conference with a .257 hitting percentage, 12.92 assists, 14.04 kills and 1.55 service aces per set, while holding opponents to a league-low .163 hitting percentage. In A-10 matches, Sally Warning boasts a league-high 1.13 blocks per set. In conference matches, the Billikens lead the league with a .298 hitting percentage, 13.31 assists, 2.36 blocks, 14.40 kills and 1.51 service aces per set, all while holding their opponents to a league-low .130 hitting percentage. Head Coach Anne Kordes: Head coach Anne Kordes is in her fifth season at Saint Louis with a 98-53 (.649) career ledger. The 1998 Louisville graduate, who is enjoying her winningest campaign as a head coach, guided the Bills to their second A-10 regular-season crown in 2008 and the first unbeaten A-10 slate since 1997. In 2006, Kordes guided SLU to its first NCAA Volleyball Tournament appearance after her squad captured its first A-10 Championship crown and tied for the A-10 regular-season title. Kordes, the 2006 A-10 Coach of the Year, is joined on the sideline by assistant coach Kyle Walton, volunteer assistant Corey Arbini and graduate assistant Lisa Orlet. More McLovin' for McCloud: After helping Saint Louis upset No. 3 Stanford in the final match of the Billiken Invitational, junior right-side hitter Sammi McCloud was recognized as the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week. She averaged a team-best 4.08 kills per set en route to her second straight All-Tournament accolade. McCloud is the third Billiken to be named AVCA National Player of the Week. Colleen Hunter earned the accolade on Oct. 16, 2000, and Stephanie Feulner was named National Player of the Week on Oct. 9, 1995. One for the Ages: When Saint Louis defeated No. 3 Stanford 3-1 in the final match of the Billiken Invitational on Sept. 6, it marked just the second time in program history that the Bills had defeated a ranked opponent. Saint Louis is 2-19 all-time against ranked teams. SLU's victory also marked the first time since Sept. 2, 2006, that the Cardinal lost to an opponent outside the top 10. The Billikens' win over No. 3 Stanford is the biggest victory by an A-10 team since former league member Penn State defeated top-ranked Pacific 3-2 on Sept. 22, 1984, in Kingston, R.I. Come One, Come All: An on-campus record 2,152 fans witnessed Saint Louis' 3-1 win over No. 3 Stanford on Sept. 6 at Chaifetz Arena. One night earlier, the third-largest crowd in program history (1,016) attended the Billikens' match against No. 19 Illinois. |
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