Billikens Post Most Wins Since 1999
Nov. 29, 2007
2007 CAMPAIGN - Saint Louis enjoyed its second straight 20-win campaign and finished among the top three teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2007. The Billikens finished the season with a 23-7 overall record and a 10-3 ledger in A-10 action. Their only league losses came against NCAA Tournament qualifiers Xavier and #15 Dayton. LAST TIME OUT - The third-seeded Billikens (23-7, 10-3 A-10) defeated sixth-seeded George Washington 3-0 in the Atlantic 10 Championship opener on Nov. 16. In the semifinals, SLU won the first two games against second-seeded Xavier but dropped the next three as its quest for a second-straight A-10 Championship crown fell short. TWICE AS NICE - For the second time in head coach Anne Kordes' tenure, the Billikens reached the 20-win plateau after finishing with a 23-7 ledger. The 23 wins are the most since SLU's 1999 squad also posted 23 victories, in addition to being a career best for Kordes. SLU has achieved 16 20-win campaigns since the program began in 1975. SIMPLY THE BEST - The Billikens' .255 hitting percentage in 2007 is the best offensive clip in volleyball program history. The previous standard of .254 was established by the 1983 squad. Additionally, SLU's 20.81 points per game is a program record. The 1998 team held the previous mark of 20.50. The 2007 squad's 15.03 assists per game and 16.29 kills per game rank second and third, respectively. AMONG THE DIVISION I ELITE - Through matches as of Nov. 25, two Billikens are ranked among the top 25 Division I statistical leaders. Bridget Fonke is 21st with 0.57 aces per game, and Whitney Roth is 20th with 13.12 assists per game. FOLLOW THE LEADER - Two Billikens finished the season as A-10 statistical leaders. Whitney Roth was the A-10 leader in assists per game (13.12) while Bridget Fonke led the conference in service aces per game (0.57). As a team, SLU completed the 2007 campaign as the A-10 leaders in hitting percentage (.255), assists per game (15.03), blocks per game (2.65) and kills per game (16.29). The Bills also posted the highest single-match hitting percentage of any A-10 team this season with a .532 effort in their 3-0 season-opening win over Louisiana-Monroe.
KICKIN' IT UP A NOTCH - After missing five early-season matches due to injury, Sammi McCloud took her game to another level when A-10 action began. In conference-only matches, the sophomore outside hitter ranks fourth in the league with 4.11 kills per game and is sixth with 4.52 points per game. A LITTLE ASSIST-ANCE - Sophomore setter Whitney Roth is well on her way to breaking the school record of 3,284 career assists. As a freshman last season, she shattered SLU's single-season assists record (1,528). With the 2007 season complete, she ranks second on the single-season chart with 1,444 assists. Roth also ranks second on the career assist list with 2,972, needing only 312 to claim the career mark. She also holds the SLU assist mark for freshmen and sophomores. IN ELITE COMPANY - Senior Sutton Lasater is just the fourth Billiken in school history to compile more than 1,000 kills and 500 blocks for her career. Former Billiken standouts Julie Tretten (1994-97), Colleen Hunter (1999-2002) and Laura Risley (1996-99) are the only other SLU players to accomplish the feat. Lasater finished her career with 1,193 kills and 527 blocks. Her kill total is seventh on SLU's all-time list while her block total ranks third. DOUBLE TROUBLE - Saint Louis players compiled 21 double-doubles in 2007. Whitney Roth led the Bills with 11 while Sammi McCloud trailed with nine and Bridget Fonke posted one. The feat was most recently accomplished by both McCloud (21 kills, 14 digs) and Roth (64 assists, 17 digs) in the Billikens' season-ending loss to Xavier. McCloud is also the last Billiken to tally a triple-double. In 2006, she had 11 kills, 10 digs and 10 assists against Southeast Missouri State. WITNESS TO HISTORY - Fans in attendance at Saint Louis' match against Connecticut on Sept. 8 witnessed the highest-scoring game in school history. The Billikens scored 37 points to the Huskies' 35 for the match victory in game four. HOME SWEET HOME - SLU, which went 8-1 at home in 2007, completed its tenure at the Bauman-Eberhardt Center on Nov. 1 with a 3-0 win over Duquesne. Since 1988, the Billikens are 164-83 at the facility for a .664 win percentage. SLU's longest winning streak at the Bauman-Eberhardt Center was 15 matches from Sept. 3, 1988 to Sept. 2, 1989. The Bills were unbeaten in 12 matches at home in 1988. Starting in 2008, Saint Louis will play its home matches at Chaifetz Arena, currently under construction on the eastern edge of the SLU campus at the corner of Laclede and Compton avenues. THIRD TIME'S A CHARM - In 2007, when Saint Louis' matches go three games the Billikens were 15-2. SLU also captured wins in five of its seven four-game matches. The Bills were 3-3 when forced to play five games, with each loss coming against an eventual NCAA Tournament squad - LSU, Dayton and Xavier. TOP 10 ATTENDANCE - The crowd of 632 fans at SLU's match against Xavier on Oct. 26 was the ninth-largest volleyball crowd in Bauman-Eberhardt history. The largest crowd to witness a match at the Bauman-Eberhardt Center was on Nov. 12, 2004, when 1,137 people watched the Billikens take on TCU. Four of the top 10 attendance marks have occurred since Anne Kordes became head coach prior to the 2004 season. SMOKIN' ACES - SLU aced the competition 204 times in 2007, nearly twice as many times as its been aced by the competition (104). The Billikens served up 1.87 aces per game while the competition was at 0.95 per game. Their 204 aces rank 11th on SLU's single-season aces list. COACH Anne Kordes - Head coach Anne Kordes owns a 74-49 career record in four seasons at Saint Louis. This season she put together her winningest squad yet as the 2007 team finished with 23 wins. In 2006, she led the Billikens to the program's first NCAA Tournament berth and was selected as the A-10 Coach of the Year. The Billikens won the A-10 Championship and a share of the 2006 A-10 regular-season title, the first for the program since 1989. Kordes has coached two All-Americans, the Northeast Region Freshman of the Year, three All-Region picks, seven All-Conference first-team selections, five conference All-Rookie selections and one league Rookie of the Year. In addition, under Kordes, the Billikens have had one Academic All-District selection. GRIN & BEHR IT - Sophomore libero Whitney Behrens (St. Louis, Mo. / Incarnate Word) led the Billikens with 20 digs and a career-high three service aces in the loss to Xavier, also had an assist ... boasted a match-best and season-high 24 digs to go with an assist in SLU's win over George Washington. BENT BUT NOT BOKEN - Freshman outside hitter Megan Boken (Wheaton, Ill. / St. Francis) turned in a career-high 16 digs with three assists, a kill and an ace in the Xavier loss ... collected eight digs, a kill and an ace in the win over George Washington. MERRY CHRISTMAN - Junior middle blocker Lauren Christman (Oak Brook, Ill. / Hinsdale Central) tallied season highs in attempts (33), assists (5) and digs (4) in the season-ending loss to Xavier while tying her season high with nine blocks and posted eight kills ... had a match-high tying 12 kills to go with two blocks, an assist and a dig in the GW victory. SARAH SMILE - Junior defensive specialist Sarah Entzeroth (St. Louis, Mo. / Duchesne) did not play in the A-10 Championship. PLAY THAT FONKE MUSIC - Sophomore outside hitter Bridget Fonke (St. Louis, Mo. / St. Joseph's) completed the 2007 campaign as the A-10 leader in service aces per game (0.57) ... also ranked second in points per game with 5.06, fourth with 4.21 kills per game and ninth with a .286 hitting percentage ... posted 15 kills, nine digs and two blocks in the loss to Xavier ... compiled 10 kills, five digs and four service aces in the GW victory. A BRAITH OF FRESH AIR - Freshman defensive specialist Emily Galbraith (Louisville, Ky. / Assumption) had two digs in the Xavier defeat ... did not play in the GW match. GROH-ING UP - Redshirt freshman middle blocker Elyse Groh (Portage, Mich. / Central) did not play in the A-10 Championship. FIT FOR A KING - Senior defensive specialist Chrissy King (St. Louis, Mo. / Cor Jesu) turned in a season-best 11 digs in the Xavier loss ... had seven digs and an assist in the win over George Washington. ON THE BUTTON - Senior middle blocker Sutton Lasater (St. Louis, Mo. / Marquette) finished the season ranked fourth in the A-10 in hitting percentage (.347) and blocks per game (1.19) ... recorded 16 kills and a block in the loss to Xavier ... posted 10 kills, four blocks and an assist in the GW win. CLOUD NINE - Sophomore outside hitter Sammi McCloud (Columbia, Ill. / Columbia) was named to the A-10 All-Championship squad for the second-straight season ... was one of two Billikens with a double-double in the season finale ... posted a match-high 21 kills on a career-best 72 swings with 14 digs, a season-high tying four blocks and an assist in the loss to Xavier ... tied for match-high honors with 12 kills, also turned in five digs, two blocks and an assist in the win over GW. HIGH POWERED - Freshman defensive specialist Megan Power (Sugar Grove, Ill. / St. Francis) recorded a dig in the Xavier loss ... notched the first kill of her career to go with a dig in the win over GW. QUICK WIT - Sophomore setter Whitney Roth (Louisville, Ky. / Assumption) finished the 2007 season as the A-10 leader in assists per game with 13.12 ... earned A-10 All-Championship accolades for the second season in a row ... was one of two Bills with a double-double in the season finale ... registered a match-high 64 assists and a career-best 17 digs along with two kills and a block in the Xavier loss ... dished out a match-high 46 assists and had six digs, three blocks, a kill and an ace in the GW victory. ON HIGH ALERT - Sophomore right-side hitter Sally Warning (Appleton, Wis. / Kimberly) tied her career-high with 14 kills on a career-best 32 swings against Xavier, also had four blocks ... added seven kills, two blocks and two digs to the Billikens' cause in their win over GW. |
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