Sept. 1, 2010

This Week: Saint Louis volleyball opens its home slate with a trio of matches this weekend in the Marcia E. Hamilton Active Ankle Challenge at Chaifetz Arena. The Billikens face Creighton in their home opener, Friday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. SLU returns to action Saturday at 9:30 a.m. with a contest against Wake Forest before rounding out tournament action vs. Iowa at 7 p.m.

Tournament Origin: The Marcia E. Hamilton Active Ankle Challenge was created when Dr. John W. Hamilton, a professor in the University's John Cook School of Business, contributed a major gift to the Billiken volleyball program in honor of his wife, Marcia, who recently lost her battle with breast cancer. The gift honors the legacy of Marcia E. Hamilton by increasing breast cancer awareness and supporting Saint Louis volleyball.

Following the Action: All Billiken home matches this season 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. Only SLU's matches in the Marcia E. Hamilton Active Ankle Challenge will be available this weekend. All home matches will be available free of charge on GameTracker.

Ticket Information: Tickets for all volleyball home matches can be purchased at the gate, by phone at (314) 977-4SLU or online at www.slubillikens.com. Prices for single-match tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for youth. Groups of 20 or more receive discounted tickets for $4 apiece. Group tickets must be purchased in advance through the Billiken Ticket Office. Students with a valid SLU ID card receive free admission.

Boken Honored: After collecting three double-doubles and being named to the IPFW Invitational All-Tournament team last weekend, senior outside hitter Megan Boken picked up A-10 Defensive Player of the Week plaudits Aug. 31. It is the first weekly league honor of her career. Boken was a defensive stopper at the net and in the back row, posting 13 blocks (1.00 per set) and 47 digs (3.62). She led the Billikens with a .264 hitting percentage and ranked second on the squad with 3.77 kills per set.

About the Billikens: Saint Louis (1-2) suffered a pair of five-set losses before claiming its first win of the season vs. Tulsa at the IPFW Invitational last weekend. The 2010 Bills, who are one of the youngest Division I volleyball teams in the country with eight freshmen on their roster, have been picked to finish second in the A-10 by the league's head coaches. SLU is the only club in the Marcia E. Hamilton Active Ankle Challenge field that began its season on the road. Junior outside hitter Alyssa Deno paces the offense with 4.08 kills per set, while senior outside hitter Megan Boken adds 3.77 kills per set. Boken, the reigning Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week, also ranks second on the squad with 3.62 digs and 1.00 block per set. Freshman setter Hannah Kvitle directs the offense with 10.77 assists per set. Sophomore libero Andrea Bolt is the Billikens' top back-row defender with 4.15 digs per set, while redshirt freshman Carly Schumacher is SLU's top net-minder with 1.15 blocks per set.

Head Coach Anne Kordes: Head coach Anne Kordes is in her seventh season at Saint Louis with a 128-64 (.667) ledger. The 1998 Louisville graduate guided the Billikens to the program's first Atlantic 10 Conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2006. SLU also achieved A-10 regular-season titles and NCAA Tournament berths in 2008 and 2009. A three-time A-10 Coach of the Year (2006, 2008, 2009), Kordes helped her 2008 squad become the first team since 1997 to complete the league slate with an unblemished record. That same season, she earned CVU.com (Collegiate Volleyball Update) National Coach of the Year honors and was named AVCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year. Kordes is the first coach in program history to lead her teams to four consecutive 20-win campaigns. She is joined on the sideline by assistant coaches Kyle Walton and Angela Powers and volunteer assistant Jeannette Abbott.

About the Bluejays: Creighton (1-3), which fell to No. 7 Nebraska 3-0 on Tuesday, won its season opener vs. San Francisco before dropping matches against Lipscomb and Kansas at the Bluejay Invitational last weekend. The Bluejays return four starters, their libero and six additional letterwinners from the 2009 squad, which finished 14-17 overall, 10-8 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Senior right-side/outside hitter Alicia Runge, who leads the team with 4.00 kills per set and a .207 hitting percentage, is the only Creighton player averaging more than 3.00 kills per set. Fellow senior right-side/outside hitter Allie Oelke chips in 2.80 kills per set to go with 4.07 digs per set. Sophomore setter Megan Bober dishes out a team-high 9.67 assists per set in addition to posting 1.07 blocks per set. Senior libero Nayka Benitez digs a team-best 5.27 balls per set, while sophomore middle blocker Heather Thorson is the team's top stopper at the net with 1.33 blocks per set. Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is 121-92 in eight career seasons at Creighton. SLU, which leads the series 3-1, swept the Bluejays in the last meeting in Omaha, Neb. in 2009.

About the Demon Deacons: Wake Forest (2-1) began the 2010 campaign with consecutive wins over Coastal Carolina and East Tennessee State at its own Deacon Invitational last weekend before falling to Georgia in four sets. The Demon Deacons return five starters, their libero and six additional letterwinners from last season's squad that finished 11-20 overall, 9-11 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Junior outside hitter Kadija Fornah, a preseason All-Conference pick, leads Wake Forest with 4.18 kills per set. Sophomore middle blocker Andrea Beck, who leads the squad with a .449 hitting percentage, contributes 3.45 kills per set and 1.00 block per set. Junior setter Kelsey Jones dishes out a team-high 9.82 assists per set, while sophomore middle blocker Carlin Salmon paces the Demon Deacons with 1.45 blocks per set. Senior libero Megan Thornberry is the team's defensive stalwart with 3.36 digs per set. Head coach Heather Kahl Holmes is 71-88 in her sixth career season at Wake Forest. This is the first meeting between the Billikens and WFU.

About the Hawkeyes: Iowa (3-0) defeated Alabama, Southern Illinois and Green Bay to win its own Hawkeye Challenge last weekend. Junior middle blocker and tournament MVP Mallory Husz was among four Hawkeyes named to the All-Tournament squad. She leads the team with 1.67 blocks per set and adds 3.00 kills per set. Redshirt senior middle blocker Becky Walters is Iowa's top offensive threat with 3.42 kills per set, while also adding a team-high 0.75 service aces and 1.33 blocks per set. Junior setter Paige Stevens directs the offense with 10.33 assists per set, while freshman libero Bethany Yeager leads the club with 5.25 digs per set. Sharon Dingman owns a 30-37 mark in her third season at Iowa. Her 20-year career record stands at 366-249. SLU fell at Iowa 3-0 in 1992 in the only meeting between the teams.

Rookie Starts: When Andrea Beaty, Hannah Kvitle and Carly Schumacher were in the starting lineup for SLU's season opener last weekend, it was the first time since the 2006 season opener that a freshman had been in the starting lineup on opening day.

Betta' Blockers: In just three matches, SLU has already recorded higher single-match totals for team and individual blocks than it did all last season. The Bills kicked off the season with 10 blocks vs. Milwaukee, tying the 2009 season high. They improved on that figure with 14 blocks against IPFW. The last time SLU recorded at least 14.0 blocks was in 2008 against George Washington. Carly Schumacher's seven blocks against Milwaukee are one more than any Billiken recorded last season. Additionally, Alyssa Deno's 69 swings vs. IPFW are more than any player recorded in 2009.

Double Trouble: The Billikens collected six double-doubles during the first weekend of the season. Megan Boken turned in the first of three straight double-doubles in the season opener against Milwaukee with 16 kills and 12 digs. Boken (17K, 20D), Alyssa Deno (24K, 11D) and Hannah Kvitle (54A, 14D) each recorded a double-double at IPFW. Kvitle (40A, 17D) and Boken (16K, 15D) repeated the feat in the tournament finale vs. Tulsa.

Among the A-10: Saint Louis ranks among the top five teams in the conference in four statistical categories. The Bills are second with 2.38 blocks per set, third with 12.23 assists and 12.92 kills per set, and fourth with 15.85 digs per set. Individually, Megan Boken ranks among the league's top 10 in four categories. She is third in kills (3.77) and points (4.62) per set, tied for fifth in blocks per set (1.00) and 10th in digs per set (3.62). Meanwhile, Alyssa Deno is second in kills per set (4.08) and fourth in points per set (4.50). Hannah Kvitle is second with 10.77 assists per set, Carly Schumacher is fourth in blocks per set (1.15) and Andrea Bolt is seventh in digs per set (4.15).

Polling Place: Saint Louis, which is slated to play six NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago, received 18 votes in the AVCA Preseason Top 25 Poll. The Bills have been ranked in the AVCA Top 25 Poll 23 times since 2008. Four of SLU's opponents this season received votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 Poll. Dayton came in at No. 20 with 359 points, while Utah (nine points), Missouri State (seven points) and Oklahoma (six points) were listed among the other teams receiving votes.

Billiken Veterans: Six players return to the Billiken lineup in 2010. The only six-rotation player reappearing on the roster is senior outside hitter Megan Boken. SLU's junior class consists of outside hitter Alyssa Deno, defensive specialist/libero Ashley Gaillot and setter Amelia Karges. Defensive specialist/libero Andrea Bolt and middle blocker Carly Marcum comprise the Bills' sophomore class.

Fab Freshmen: Saint Louis has one of the largest freshman classes in the country in 2010. PrepVolleyball.com voted SLU's rookies as the No. 18 recruiting class in the nation. SLU's roster features seven true freshmen and one redshirt freshman. Middle blocker Carly Schumacher returns to the lineup after sitting out the 2009 campaign. The true freshmen are outside/right-side hitter Lauren Baumet, middle blocker/outside hitter Andrea Beaty, defensive specialist/libero Grace Bonoma, right-side hitter Emma Goldschmidt, setter/defensive specialist Sarah Knouse, setter Hannah Kvitle and middle blocker Kelsey Toebben.

Saint Louis Billikens Women's Volleyball

• VB: Billiken Invitational