 Billikens Lose to Iowa in Five-Set Heartbreaker
Sept. 4, 2010
ST. LOUIS - The Saint Louis volleyball team built an early 5-0 lead in the fifth set, but Iowa rallied for a 15-11 win and claimed the championship of the Marcia E. Hamilton Active Ankle Challenge in Chaifetz Arena. Iowa won the match 20-25, 25-23, 13-25, 25-10, 15-11. A crowd of 1,668 attended the match, the third-highest total in program history. Billiken setter Hannah Kvitle served the first five points of the decisive set to give SLU an advantage. Alyssa Deno tallied two kills in the opening burst, and Kvitle's ace put the Bills up 5-0. Iowa answered with three straight points to close the gap, but a kill by Andrea Beaty and an Iowa hitting error handed SLU a 7-3 edge. The Hawkeyes took advantage of two SLU hitting errors, and a block pushed Iowa on top 8-7. The Billikens tied the set on a Hawkeye service error, but Iowa scored three straight to build an 11-8 lead. The Bills cut the gap to 11-9, but kills by Tiffany Nilges and Nikki Daily pushed the Iowa lead to 13-9. The Billikens scored two of the next three points on kills by Megan Boken and Carly Marcum to edge to 14-11. However, the SLU rally came up just short as Nilges' kill ended the match at 15-11. Set one was tied 4-4 before a Marcum kill ignited a quick 3-0 run by the Billikens for a 7-4 lead. Iowa scored a point, but the Billikens reeled off five straight points to take a 12-5 lead. SLU's advantage stood at 13-7 before Iowa closed the deficit with four unanswered points. The Hawkeyes eventually tied the set at 17-17. A Deno kill and a tip by Kvitle boosted the Billikens to a 20-18 lead. At 22-20, SLU scored the final three points to take the set 25-20.
The second set featured 15 ties and nine lead changes before Iowa eventually tied the match 1-1. The Billikens scored the first three points of the set but neither team led by more than two points the rest of the way. Iowa tied the set at 5-5 before a steady set of sideouts ensued. The Billikens took their last lead at 22-21, and Iowa eventually tied the set at 23-23. However, a kill by Lauren Friedman and a block gave Iowa a 25-23 win. SLU edged ahead in set three 13-11 before a 4-0 burst. Kvitle's tip started the run, and a Deno kill ended it for a 17-11 lead. The Billikens led 18-12 and took control with a 5-0 spree en route to a 25-13 win. After four early ties in the fourth set, Iowa raced gradually built a lead of 11-6 sparked by three kills from Becky Walters. A kill from Deno halted the run but Walters put down another kill, which kicked off an 8-0 charge that spurred the Hawkeyes to a 19-7 lead. Iowa went on to win the set 25-10 as it hit at a .345 clip. Saint Louis committed six hitting errors in set four. Deno, who was named to the All-Tournament team, led the Billikens with 22 kills and completed a double-double with 13 digs. Beaty registered a career-high 13 kills, while libero Grace Bonoma recorded a match- and career-high 23 digs. Mallory Husz led Iowa with 16 kills and a match-best nine blocks, and Bethany Yeager finished with 21 digs. The Billikens are 2-4 on the season, while the Hawkeyes improve to 5-1. |
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