SAU moves to MCC title tilt

By Shannon Heaton, sheaton@qconline.com
Photo: Mike Itchue
from: The Dispatch - Rock Island Argus
Thursday, November 9, 2006

Playing on emotion can provide a huge boost for any athletic team. Playing almost solely on it, however, eventually dampens that boost.

Wednesday night, Mount Mercy's volleyball came into St. Ambrose's Lee Lohman Arena on an emotional high, using that high to help bag a 30-25 first-game victory over the Queen Bees.

However, SAU maintained its composure and built sizable leads in each of the next three games to defeat the Mustangs in a Midwest Classic Conference tournament semifinal, winning the match in four games (30-26, 30-15, 30-20).

"We knew they were a good team, a scrappy team, and that first game, they came out there strong," said SAU libero Kristen Anglin. "It came down, though, to who was going to have more intensity throughout the match, and we managed to stay on top the last three games."

Mt. Mercy (10-19) got the job done early with several key blocks, briefly slowing down the Ambrose offense and making things difficult for the Bees' hitters.

"I couldn't hit past their blocks for nothing," SAU outside hitter Andrea Brooks said of the Mustang block in the first game.

"Afterward, though, the coaches gave me some advice. They told me to just find (the blocker's) outside hand), and the balls would start going down. When I did that, I started getting kills."

Brooks, a former Davenport North prep, finished with 12 of those, and former Bettendorf prep Kelly Grimes had 13.

"We came out for the second game knowing they weren't just going to give it to us," Grimes said. "Their energy and our lack of it (in the first game) was a problem, but we were able to put them away the way we should."

Once Ambrose was able to penetrate Mt. Mercy's block a crack, the Bees eventually hammered it down.

Even though the Mustangs were able to extend points with a back-row defense that continued its tenacious play throughout the match (98 digs as a team), SAU held the advantage for good, building an eight-point lead (22-14) in the second game, and jumping out to 11-2 and 22-8 leads in the third and 14-5 and 25-13 in the fourth.

With the victory Wednesday night, the Bees accomplished a first under head coach Bruce Billingsley -- winning 30 matches. SAU has now won 23 of its last 26 this season.

"People have asked me about our team, and I tell them that (the girls) are like workhorses," Billingsley said. "They get the job done. It may not always be perfect, it may not be pretty, but they just go out and win."

They can add to the 30-win accomplishment with a MCC title on Saturday night, when Ambrose (30-9) hosts Viterbo (30-13) at 5 p.m. The V-Hawks handled Waldorf in three games (32-30, 30-28 and 30-23) to take the other semifinal.

"We haven't had a conference championship since 2001, which was before our time here," said Brooks, nodding to the distant women's volleyball title banner on the Lohman wall. "It was fun winning the (regular-season) conference (title); now, we definitely want a banner with our year on it."

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