St. Ambrose routs St. Xavier in Queen Bees’ NAIA regional quarterfinal

By Shannon Heaton, sheaton@qconline.com

from: The Dispatch - Rock Island Argus
Thursday, November 16, 2006

In case they might be needed, two video-game superheroes graced St. Ambrose University's Lee Lohman Arena with their presence Wednesday night.

However, there were no damsels in distress for Mario and Luigi of Super Mario Brothers video-game fame -- actually two members of the SAU men's volleyball team in costume -- to rescue.

Instead, the Queen Bee volleyballers made sure distress wasn't part of the equation, junking their characteristically-slow start in favor of a quick "Game Over" against visiting St. Xavier.

St. Ambrose routed the Cougars in three games, 30-26, 34-32 and 30-18, to win an NAIA Region VII quarterfinal match in the final home game of 2006 at Lohman.

St. Ambrose (32-9), winners of five straight and 25 of their last 28 matches, now will travel to Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais to face Trinity International (24-17) in an 8 p.m. semifinal match Friday. The winner plays in Saturday's 2 p.m. championship match, with a berth in the NAIA National Tournament on the line.

"Hopefully, we're peaking at the right time," said SAU coach Bruce Billingsley of his team's play. "That's a good team we played. We lost to them in September at their place in three games, and beat them in five at Olivet (in a tournament), on a neutral court. We're definitely ready."

The quick start and first-game win certainly proved crucial in the second game, which provided the match's only tension. St. Xavier (23-20) jumped out to an early 6-1 lead; late in the game, the Cougars led 28-22, only to see the Bees storm back behind a flurry of Andrea Brooks kills.

"I was just, `We are not losing this game,' and just stepped things up. I had open shots and went after it," said Brooks, who finished with 12 kills and 24 digs. "We all had fire in our eyes, that they were not going to win it."

After losing in such a tense fashion, St. Xavier looked noticeably withdrawn in the third game, coughing up six unforced errors -- including three straight service errors -- as St. Ambrose went for the throat.

"This shows what level we'll have to play at the rest of the way," said senior right-side hitter Kelly Grimes, who had 13 kills. "Our starts are something we've struggled with all season, so to come out really strong was important tonight."

Senior outside hitter Emily Russell had one of her best hitting nights of her career, leading the way for the Bees with 16 kills.

"Just the whole day, I was mentally preparing myself for this match," said Russell. "The whole team stepped up and showed energy and intensity tonight. We've got to play like that on every point from here on out."

SAU Box Score