Women's Volleyball News - 2012-13

Queen Bees sign Tina Massey for 2013

Apr. 5, 2013

by Brent Beerends

St. Ambrose University Women’s Volleyball Coach Bruce Billingsley is excited to announce the signing of Tina Massey. She signed her letter of intent to play for St. Ambrose beginning in the fall of 2013.

Massey, the daughter of Eric and Kay Massey, is a 5-9 player who has played outside hitter, right-side hitter and setter at Illiana Christian High School. Her team has won the Class 3A Rich South Regional title four straight years.

The Lansing, Ill., native totaled 251 kills, an average of three per game, with a .380 hitting percentage in 2012. She also amassed 74 blocks. Her efforts helped her garner NWI Times first team all-area and all-Metro Suburban Conference honors. She was also named to the all-tournament teams at Manteno and Chicago Christian, where she had 28 kills.

Massey plans to major in Athletic Training at St. Ambrose.

Pictured: SAU assistant coach Catherine Wildner and Tina Massey

Cassidy Staunton agrees to join SAU volleyball in 2013

Apr. 5, 2013

by Brent Beerends

St. Ambrose University Women’s Volleyball Coach Bruce Billingsley is excited to announce the signing of Cassidy Staunton. She signed her letter of intent to play for St. Ambrose beginning in the fall of 2013.

Staunton is a 5-7 outside hitter/defensive specialist from Oak Forest (Ill.) High School.

Staunton was part of an Oak Forest team that won the 2012 South Suburban Conference (SSC), a sectional championship and two regional titles. She was named to the SSC Blue Division All Conference Team for her senior-year performance.

Staunton intends to major in Physical Therapy at St. Ambrose.

Pictured: SAU assistant coach Catherine Wildner and Cassidy Staunton

Queen Bees get commitment from Missy Quero for 2013

Apr. 5, 2013

by Brent Beerends

St. Ambrose University Women’s Volleyball Coach Bruce Billingsley is excited to announce the signing of Missy Quero. She signed her letter of intent to play for St. Ambrose beginning in the fall of 2013.

Quero, from Palos Heights, Ill., is a 5-11 middle hitter from Queen of Peace High School, located in Burbank, Ill. The senior captain was a member of Girls Catholic Athletic Conference volleyball championship teams in 2011 and 2012.

In their last playoff win in 2012, she put down 18 kills against Evergreen Park High School.

Quero has been an academic standout and was named to the Queen of Peace Honor Roll as both a junior and senior.

She plans to pursue a major in Speech Pathology at St. Ambrose.

Pictured: SAU assistant coach Catherine Wildner and Missy Quero

Jessica Thomas commits to play volleyball at SAU

Mar. 27, 2013

by Brent Beerends

St. Ambrose University Women’s Volleyball Coach Bruce Billingsley is excited to announce the signing of Jessica Thomas. She committed to play for St. Ambrose beginning in the fall of 2013.

Thomas, the daughter of Greg and Janet Thomas and sister of former Mount Mercy University standout Brittney Thomas, is a three-year All-Metro Honorable Mention (2010-12) selection at Marion (Iowa) High School. The 6-2 right-side/outside hitter was named to the All-WaMaC conference second team as a senior and received an honorable mention nomination as a junior.

She was a leading serve artist at Marion High School, recording a serve percentage of 96.6 percent her senior year (10th in school history). She also accumulated 196 kills, averaging two kills per game, with a kill efficiency of .283 percent.

Thomas was named to the all-state academic volleyball team as a senior, and was an honor roll student all four years of high school. She plans on majoring in Psychology and fulfilling the necessary requirements for a Pre-Physician’s Assistant focus.

Thomas will join recent recruits Mariah Peck and Erin Mead as new outside hitters for the St. Ambrose women’s volleyball team.

Peck latest to sign with SAU volleyball team

Mar. 12, 2013

by Brent Beerends

St. Ambrose University Women’s Volleyball Coach Bruce Billingsley is excited to announce the signing of Mariah Peck. She signed her letter of intent today to play for St. Ambrose in the fall of 2013.

Peck, a 5-11 outside hitter from Tipton (Iowa) High School, helped lead the Tigers to the third round of Iowa High School district play in 2012.

The daughter of Scott Person and Denise Peck is a three-year varsity letter winner at Tipton High School. She was named to the 2A Southeast All-District Team and First Team All-Cedar Valley Conference as a junior and senior. Peck was also named to the Quad-City Times All-Area Second Team as a senior and earned honorable mention as a junior.

Peck broke the school record for kills with 353 kills her senior season (an average of 3.64 kills per set). It broke a record that had stood since 1991.

Peck has not only excelled on the court but in the classroom. She has been named to academic all-conference all four years of high school and was named to the all-state academic team her senior year. She plans on majoring in Biology at St. Ambrose.

Peck joins a Queen Bees program that finished the 2012 season with a 19-13 record. SAU has won nine Midwest Collegiate Conference titles since 1994 and qualified for two of the last four NAIA National Championship Tournaments.

Queen Bees sign Mead as part of 2013 recruiting class

Dec. 5, 2012

St. Ambrose head women's volleyball coach Bruce Billingsley is excited to announce the addition of Erin Mead to the Queen Bees volleyball program. Mead signed her letter of intent at a ceremony last week and will attend St. Ambrose University in the fall.

Mead, an outside hitter from North Scott High School, helped lead the Lancers to a share of the Mississippi Athletic Conference championship and a spot in the Elite 8 at the 2012 Iowa State Tournament.

The first team all-MAC and honorable mention Iowa Class 4A all-state selection led North Scott with 302 kills this season, an average of 3.18 per game. She was also second on the team with 320 digs, 51 service aces and 53 blocks. She earned all-conference honorable mention the previous two years.

Mead has also been a member of three Junior National Championship qualifying teams, placing 38th in Reno, Nev. in 2010, 25th in Atlanta, Ga. in 2011 and 27th in Columbus, Ohio this year.

She has been selected to compete in two High Performance Championships - 2011 in Tucson, Ariz. and 2012 in Des Moines, Iowa. This year, Mead was picked to play on the Iowa Senior All-Star Team and was named to the 2012 Quad-City Times All-Metro First Team.

Off the court, Mead was a three-time academic all-conference award winner.

Mead joins a St. Ambrose program that has won nine Midwest Collegiate Conference titles since 1994 and qualified for two of the last four NAIA National Championship Tournaments.

Pictured above: Front Row: SAU assistant coach Catherine Wildner, Erin Mead, SAU head coach Bruce Billingsley. Back Row: North Scott High School head coach Amy Schubert.

Four Bees named to all-conference team

Nov. 15, 2012

MCC release

Tori Matzen and Catherine Wildner were named first team all-conference and Jackie DalCerro and Kailey Scott received honorable mention as the Midwest Collegiate Conference announced its post-season volleyball awards today. It is the second straight year Matzen and Wildner received first-team recognition.

The four helped the Queen Bees recover from an 0-2 start in league play to finish in third place, just a game behind co-champions Grand View and Viterbo.

Matzen (left), a senior middle hitter from Orion, Ill., led St. Ambrose with 314 kills and is currently second in the MCC with a .318 hitting percentage.

She had double-digit kills in 15 matches, and twice put down 19 kills in a match, once in a five-set win over Mount Mercy in the first round of the MCC Tournament.

Matzen also led St. Ambrose with 101 total blocks.

Wildner (right), a senior setter/outside hitter from Oak Lawn, Ill., showed her versatility by playing all over the court for the Bees.

She was second on the team in kills (260), assists (380) and digs (386). She added 19 service aces and 22 total blocks.

Wildner reached double digits in kills 13 times, digs 20 times, and assists in 18 of 19 matches she played after returning to setter midway through the year. Wildner recorded four triple-doubles, reaching double figures in kills, assists and digs.

DalCerro (left), a senior libero from Chicago, Ill., was again one of the top defensive players in the conference. She registered a team-leading 596 digs and averaged 4.8 per set, the third-best mark in the MCC.

DalCerro finished with at least 10 digs in 29 of the Bees' 32 matches and surpassed 30 four times, with a season-best 34 coming in a four-set loss to Madonna.

She also led the team with 34 service aces.

Scott (right), a sophomore setter from Evergreen Park, Ill., led St. Ambrose with 631 total assists. Her average of 5.3 assists per set ranks sixth in the conference.

She reached double figures in all but one of SAU's 32 matches and passed out 33 assists in a 3-2 loss at Trinity International.

SAU finished the season 19-13 overall and 4-2 in the MCC.

SAU's season comes to an end in semis at Viterbo

Nov. 7, 2012

Box score

A talented group of seniors saw their careers come to a close with a 3-0 loss at No. 23 Viterbo in the semifinals of the Midwest Collegiate Conference Women's Volleyball Tournament Wednesday night. The Queen Bees end the year 19-13 overall.

The five Bees playing in their final match had strong showings in the 25-21, 25-21, 25-21 defeat. Tori Matzen led the team with eight kills and a pair of blocks. Catherine Wildner again did a little bit of everything, finishing with six kills, a team-high 16 assists and seven digs. Jackie DalCerro paced the Bees with 11 digs. Rebecca Gillen (left) finished with four kills. And Dolores Wildner (right) had five digs, two assists and a dig.

SAU fell behind early in each of the three sets but battled back to make a game out of each of them. The Bees actually rallied to take an 18-16 lead on an Alex Shipley kill in the opening set before faltering in the end.

With their backs against the wall in the third set, the Bees reeled off three straight points, the last coming on a Matzen block, to knot the set at 18-18. But Viterbo (30-7) closed out the match by winning seven of the last eight points.

Shipley recorded seven kills and Kailey Scott had 13 assists in the loss.

Wildner earns another Setter of the Week Award

Nov. 5, 2012

MCC release

For the second straight week, and the third time overall, Catherine Wildner picked up a weekly honor from the Midwest Collegiate Conference.

Wildner (right) was named the MCC Setter of the Week today after helping St. Ambrose to a pair of important victories last week - a 3-1 victory over Clarke that guaranteed the Queen Bees at least one home MCC Tournament game and a 3-2 win over Mount Mercy in the first round of the conference tournament.

Wildner, a senior from Oak Lawn, Ill., averaged 12 kills, 25.5 assists and 12.5 digs in the wins last week.

She started with a 13-kill, 17-assist effort in the 25-15, 24-26, 25-23, 25-19 win over Clarke that propelled SAU into a third-place conference finish. She added eight digs and a pair of blocks.

Wildner then extended her career at least one more match with her triple-double of 11 kills, 34 assists and 17 digs in the 25-20, 22-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-13 win over Mount Mercy to open MCC Tournament play.

She will now lead St. Ambrose (19-12 overall) into a Wednesday night semifinal match at Viterbo (30-7).

SAU survives in five sets to advance to MCC semifinals

Nov. 2, 2012

Box score

It wasn't easy, but St. Ambrose is advancing to the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament semifinals. The Queen Bees outlasted Mount Mercy in five sets and will now visit Viterbo in a tournament semi Wednesday night.

SAU (19-12 overall) needed a late rally in the fifth set to survive 25-20, 22-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-13. Each of the last four sets went down to the wire, but none was more dramatic than the decisive set.

Mount Mercy (16-19) had an early two point lead before St. Ambrose rallied to take a 10-8 lead. The Bees' backs were against the wall down 13-12 before a Mustang service error knotted the set at 13-13. Then Alex Shipley (left) put down the last two of her 13 total kills to wrap up the first round win.

Tori Matzen led the Bees with 19 kills, and had just three hitting errors in 37 attempts. Along with Shipley's 13 kills, Catherine Wildner (right) had 11 to go with 34 assists and 17 digs, and Katie Bailey recorded 10 kills.

The balanced attack helped off-set Brittany Thomas's one-woman show for Mount Mercy. The Mustang senior finished with an incredible 39 kills in a losing effort.

Kailey Scott had 30 assists for St. Ambrose and four Bees reached double figures in digs - Dolores Wildner (23), Catherine Wildner, Jackie DalCerro (17) and Lauren Metts (14).

Now the Bees will face a Viterbo team that picked up a 25-11, 22-25, 25-17, 25-21 over SAU during the regular season back on Sept. 19. Grand View will host Clarke in the other semifinal match. The championship will be decided next Saturday.

Queen Bees grab third place in MCC

Oct. 31, 2012

Box score | Photos | MCC Tournament bracket

St. Ambrose was able to recover from an 0-2 start in Midwest Collegiate Conference play by winning its final four conference matches, including an important 3-1 win over Clarke Wednesday night, to finish third in the league with a 4-2 mark. The Queen Bees will now host Mount Mercy in a first round game of the MCC Tournament Saturday at 7 p.m.

With the threat of slipping all the way to the fifth seed with a loss to Clarke, the Bees took care of business 25-15, 24-26, 25-23, 25-19 to move to 18-12 overall.

After SAU dominated the first set, the teams went back and forth in the second. Clarke (27-8, 3-3 MCC) erased an 18-15 deficit to grab a 24-21 lead. The Bees fought off three set points on two kills from Tori Matzen (left) and another from Rebecca Gillen to knot the set at 24-24 before the Crusaders came back with two straight points to tie the match.

St. Ambrose rallied from a 17-15 deficit in the third set. Catherine Wildner (right) put down three kills as part of a 4-0 run to put the Bees in front 19-17. Leading 24-23, Alex Shipley found the back line with a kill to put SAU back in front.

The Bees took much of the drama out of the fourth set early by racing to leads of 4-0 and 13-6. Clarke got as close as four points, the last time at 23-19, but Wildner got a kill and then combined with Matzen on a block on match point to give the Bees momentum entering the conference tournament.

Wildner and Alex Shipley keyed the win with 13 kills apiece. Matzen finished with nine, Maddie McElroy had eight and Katie Bailey ended with seven. Kailey Scott had a team-best 22 assists. Jackie DalCerro (16), Scott (12) and Lauren Metts (11) all finished with double-digit digs.

Before the match, St. Ambrose recognized its seniors - Jackie DalCerro, Rebecca Gillen, Tori Matzen, Catherine Wildner, Dolores Wildner, Shawn Gerhardt, Michelle Gogel, Georgie Kutrumanes, Tricia Kutrumanes, Alyssa Matz and Kelsey Paulson. Head coach Bruce Billingsley was also honored for picking up his 600th career win in a victory at Grand View last week.

DalCerro, Wildner named MCC Players of the Week

Oct. 29, 2012

MCC release

After sparking St. Ambrose to a 3-0 win at No. 17 Grand View, Jackie DalCerro and Catherine Wildner were recognized by the Midwest Collegiate Conference. DalCerro (left) was named the MCC Libero of the Week and Wildner (right) was tabbed the Setter of the Week.

The pair helped St. Ambrose to a 2-2 record last week with the losses coming to a pair of nationally-ranked NCAA Division III teams.

DalCerro averaged 4.14 digs per set and led the team with 11 services aces over the four matches.

The senior from Chicago, Ill., reached double figures in digs in three of the four matches last week and had a week-best 22 in a four-set loss to Juniata. She came up with 15 digs in a 3-1 loss to No. 1 Washington University and had six service aces in a 3-0 win over Alverno.

DalCerro leads St. Ambrose with 552 digs and 33 service aces this season. She is currently third in the conference by averaging 4.88 digs per set.

Wildner did some of everything, leading the Bees with 69 assists, an average of nearly five per set, and finishing second on the team with 48 total digs last week. She also chipped in with 23 kills.

The senior from Oak Lawn, Ill., recorded at least 10 assists in all four matches and hit double digits in digs three times last week.

Wildner is second on the team in three major categories - kills (230), assists (313) and digs (354).

The Queen Bees close the regular season Wednesday night by hosting Clarke in an important MCC matchup on Senior Night. The JV match starts at 5 p.m. and the varsity match follows at 7:30 p.m.

Matzen named to all-tournament team in St. Louis

Oct. 27, 2012

Alverno box score | Juniata box score | Washington box score

Tori Matzen (right) was named to the all-tournament team at a four-team, two-day Halloween Invitational hosted by Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. She helped the Queen Bees finish 1-2, with both losses coming to nationally-ranked NCAA Division III teams, including top-ranked Washington. SAU is now 17-12 overall.

St. Ambrose 3, Alverno 0
The Bees rolled in their opener, taking down Alverno 25-7, 25-10, 25-14 Friday night. Hannah Turner had 10 kills against just one hitting error, and Tori Matzen finished with eight kills and a single error. Catherine Wildner led the team with 14 assists and nine digs. Kate Nowak recorded 13 assists. Jackie DalCerro was second on the team with eight digs. St. Ambrose forced Alverno into 22 hitting errors and allowed just 18 kills in the win.

Juniata 3, St. Ambrose 1
Tori Matzen put down 16 kills but it wasn't enough as SAU lost to #24 Juniata in four sets by scores of 25-21, 25-22, 20-25, 29-27. Katie Bailey and Maddie McElroy each had nine kills, Rebecca Gillen finished with eights and Catherine Wildner finished with seven. Wildner paced the Bees with 25 assists and also hit double figures in digs, adding 11. Kailey Scott handed out 18 assists while Jackie DalCerro (22) and Lauren Metts (10) also reached double-digit digs.

Washington 3, St. Ambrose 1
St. Ambrose forced the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division III to four sets before falling 25-17, 25-21, 25-16, 25-17. Tori Matzen again led a balanced attack with nine kills and Katie Bailey and Alex Shipley each finished with eight. Catherine Wildner and Kailey Scott each recorded 13 assists. Jackie DalCerro had a team-high 15 digs, while Catherine Wildner had 12 and Dolores Wildner chipped in with 10.

St. Ambrose will close the regular season by hosting Clarke Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. before starting the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament Saturday.

Billingsley gets win No. 600 as SAU defeats No. 17 Grand View

Oct. 23, 2012

Box score

St. Ambrose women’s volleyball coach Bruce Billingsley (right) won his 600th career match tonight as the Queen Bees took down No. 17 Grand View 3-0 in Des Moines, Iowa.

St. Ambrose, currently 16-10 overall and 3-2 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference, defeated the Vikings by a score of 25-22, 25-14, 25-22 for the milestone victory.

Along with getting Billingsley his 600th win, the victory was crucial for SAU in MCC play. The Bees are now tied with Clarke for third in the league, just a game behind Grand View (26-8, 4-1 MCC), with SAU slated to host Clarke next Wednesday night at Lee Lohman Arena.

After getting behind 12-8 in the first set, the Bees played from in front for much of the win over Grand View.

Like it has all season, a balanced attack carried the Bees. Rebecca Gillen put down 12 kills against just one hitting error to lead SAU. Maddie McElroy finished with nine kills, Katie Bailey had eight and Catherine Wildner added seven.

Wildner paced St. Ambrose with 17 assists and 16 digs. Kailey Scott was credited with 14 assists. Jackie DalCerro also reached double figures in digs, finishing with 13.

Win No. 600 is just another milestone in Billingsley's career. Heading into the 2012 season, he was the 12th-winningest active NAIA women's volleyball coach in the country.

As the SAU women’s coach since 1997, Billingsley has won 368 matches. He has a total of 403 wins at St. Ambrose, which includes 35 wins as the head coach of the men's program from 2000-03.

Billingsley started his coaching career at Marycrest, where he won 197 matches while coaching both the men's (113 wins from 1994-97) and women's (84 wins from 1991-96) teams.

Although no longer coaching on the men's side, Billingsley is still active as the Commissioner of the Mid-America Men's Volleyball Intercollegiate Conference (MAMVIC), representing all NAIA men's volleyball programs in the United States.

Queen Bees drop five-set match to Ashford

Oct. 18, 2012

Box score | Photos

A night after picking up a big conference win at Mount Mercy, St. Ambrose dropped a five-set match to Ashford at Lee Lohman Arena Thursday night.

The Queen Bees are now 15-10 overall following the 25-19, 23-25, 20-25, 25-23, 18-16 loss.

After dropping the first set, SAU was behind 19-17 late in the second. Back-to-back kills from Maddie McElroy sparked a run for the Bees. McElroy (right) and Catherine Wildner combined for seven kills as SAU closed the set with an 8-4 run to even the match at 1-1.

The Bees again had to rally in the third. Trailing 13-9 and 19-17, St. Ambrose used another late run to take a 2-1 lead. Wildner had three kills as part of a 8-1 run to end the third.

SAU got out fast in the fourth, winning the first three points, but a 7-1 Ashford spurt gave the Saints a 7-4 lead. The teams were tied as late as 22-22 before Ashford pulled away late to force a decisive fifth set.

Both teams had big runs in the fifth. Ashford (18-14) pushed out to a 7-2 lead before the Bees came back with six straight points to grab an 8-7 advantage. St. Ambrose got to within two points of the win at 13-10 and had a match point at 14-13 but could not close things out. The Bees ultimately fought off a pair of match points before losing 18-16 in the fifth.

Tori Matzen (left) led St. Ambrose with 19 kills. Wildner (right) finished with 16 and just one hitting error as part of a triple-double to go along with her team-high 33 assists and 19 digs. Katie Bailey had 11 kills.

Kailey Scott nearly matched Wildner with 32 assists. Dolores Wildner led four Bees with double-figure digs with 20.

St. Ambrose returns to Midwest Collegiate Conference play by visiting nationally-ranked Grand View Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

St. Ambrose grabs MCC win over Mount Mercy

Oct. 17, 2012

Box score

Just five days after beating Mount Mercy at the Big Guns Classic, St. Ambrose had to do it again Wednesday night in an important Midwest Collegiate Conference matchup. The Queen Bees went to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and came away with a 3-0 victory to improve to 15-9 overall and 2-2 in the MCC.

After watching Brittney Thomas finish with 29 kills and nine errors in a 3-1 win last week, SAU was able to slow her in the 25-20, 25-23, 25-13 win Wednesday. Thomas put down 13 kills but was forced into eight attack errors in her 38 attempts.

The Bees meanwhile, used a balanced attack with five players recording at least six kills. Catherine Wildner led SAU with 10 kills, Katie Bailey (right) had eight, Rebecca Gillen finished with seven and Maddie McElroy and Tori Matzen each chipped in with six.

St. Ambrose took control of the match from the start, racing to a 7-2 lead in the opening set. Matzen, Gillen and Bailey had kills in the fast start.

But Mount Mercy (15-13, 1-3 MCC) rallied to take a 20-17 lead after an 8-1 spurt. Those ultimately proved to be the Mustangs' final points of the set. The Bees won eight straight points to close out the first set. Wildner picked up three kills in the late surge.

SAU nearly gave away a late six-point lead in the second set. With the score knotted at 23-23, Gillen put the Bees in front with a kill before a Mount Mercy attack error gave SAU a 2-0 lead.

St. Ambrose led wire to wire in the third set. After getting out to a quick 12-5 lead, the Bees were never threatened the rest of the way.

Kailey Scott (right) had a team-best 17 assists while Wildner finished with 16. Jackie DalCerro led all players with 18 digs and Lauren Metts registered nine. McElroy was credit with six blocks in the win.

The Bees face a quick turnaround by hosting Ashford Thursday night. The 5 p.m. JV match will be followed by the varsity match, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Wildner again named to all-tournament team

Oct. 13, 2012

TIU box score | Mount Mercy box score | St. Francis box score | Cornerstone box score

For the second straight weekend, Catherine Wildner (right) was named to an all-tournament team. This weekend, she was recognized at the Big Guns Classic hosted by St. Francis (Ill.). She had a team-best 88 assists to go along with 28 kills and 52 digs to help St. Ambrose finish 2-2 at the two-day tournament.

The Queen Bees opened with wins over Trinity International and Mount Mercy before dropping the final two matches to St. Francis and No. 21 Cornerstone to move to 14-9 this season.

St. Ambrose 3, Trinity International 0
St. Ambrose got a little revenge in its first match of the tournament, defeating Trinity International 25-17, 25-15, 25-19. TIU had defeated the Bees in five sets back on Sept. 21. Catherine Wildner and Maddie McElroy led SAU with 10 kills each while combining for just three attack errors. Katie Bailey was credited with eight kills. Wildner added 17 assists and six digs in the 3-0 victory. Kailey Scott finished with a team-best 23 assists while Jackie DalCerro led the way with 18 digs.

St. Ambrose 3, Mount Mercy 1
The Bees got a sneak preview of an upcoming conference match in a 25-20, 19-25, 28-26, 25-21 non-conference win over Mount Mercy to conclude Friday's play. Tori Matzen led a balanced attack with 13 kills. Maddie McElroy and Rebecca Gillen each had 10, and Katie Bailey finished with eight. Catherine Wildner passed for 29 assists and Kailey Scott added 18. Jackie DalCerro (15), Lauren Metts (14), Dolores Wildner (12) and Catherine Wildner (10) all reached double figures in digs.

St. Francis 3, St. Ambrose 2
SAU opened Saturday's action with a five-set loss to host St. Francis. The Bees were able to win the first two sets before falling 21-25, 18-25, 25-20, 25-18, 15-10. Tori Matzen and Rebecca Gillen led the Bees with 12 kills apiece. Alex Shipley recorded 10. Kailey Scott (22) and Catherine Wildner (21) split 43 of the team's 49 assists. Wildner led the way with 24 digs, while Jackie DalCerro finished with 19, Lauren Metts and Scott both finished with 11.

No. 21 Cornerstone 3, St. Ambrose 2
The Bees rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force a decisive fifth set before ultimately falling 25-17, 25-19, 17-25, 20-25, 15-6 to No. 21 Cornerstone to end the Big Guns Classic. Rebecca Gillen came up with 11 kills and just two attack errors, and Katie Bailey had 10 kills and just one error to lead St. Ambrose. Maddie McElroy just missed double figures, finishing with nine kills. Catherine Wildner led the team with 21 assists and Kate Nowak finished with 11. Four Bees reached double digits in digs - Jackie DalCerro had 21, Dolores Wildner had 16, Lauren Metts and Catherine Wildner each had 12. Gillen and McElroy were each involved with five blocks in defeat.

The Bees will face Mount Mercy again Wednesday night in a Midwest Collegiate Conference battle beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Bees get first MCC win with 3-0 victory over AIB

Oct. 9, 2012

Box score | Photos

St. Ambrose picked up its first Midwest Collegiate Conference win of the season with a 3-0 shutout of AIB Tuesday night in Lee Lohman Arena. The 25-9, 25-12, 25-13 win moved the Queen Bees to 12-7 overall and 1-2 in the MCC.

SAU jumped to early leads in all three sets - 10-2 in the first set, 9-2 in the second and 10-5 in the third. St. Ambrose finished with 42 total kills and just 12 hitting errors to end with a .300 hitting percentage. AIB was limited to just 12 total kills and finished with 18 hitting errors.

Ten different Bees had at least one kill in the match. Katie Bailey (left) led the way with 10 kills. Rebecca Gillen finished with eight, Tori Matzen had six and Maddie McElroy finished with five.

Kailey Scott had a match-high 15 assists and Kate Nowak reached double figures with 11. Jackie DalCerro and Lauren Metts (right) paced the Bees in digs with 12 and 11, respectively.

SAU will next compete in the St. Francis (Ill.) Big Guns Classic Friday and Saturday. The Bees will face Trinity International, Mount Mercy, St. Francis and Cornerstone.

DalCerro, Wildner named MCC Players of the Week

Oct. 8, 2012

MCC release

Jackie DalCerro and Catherine Wildner were honored by the Midwest Collegiate Conference today after their play at the Liz Lykowski Tournament over the week. DalCerro (left) was named the MCC Libero of the Week and Wildner (right) was picked as the league's Player of the Week.

DalCerro continued her strong defensive play by averaging 5.75 digs and committing just seven reception errors in 95 chances (92.6 percent) over the four tournament matches. She had double-digit digs in all four matches and came up with 34 in a 3-1 loss to No. 17 Madonna.

DalCerro leads the Queen Bees with 375 digs and shares the team lead with 17 service aces this season.

Wildner was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 2.19 kills, 4.31 assists and 3.00 digs per game. She recorded two triple-doubles (10 kills, 19 assists, 17 digs vs. Indiana East; 11 kills, 13 assists, 10 digs vs. Indiana Tech) at the tournament.

This season, Wildner is second on St. Ambrose in both kills (151) and digs (227) and is third on the team in assists (99).

The Bees return to MCC play by hosting AIB Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Wildner named to all-tournament team at Indiana Tech

Oct. 7, 2012

Ind. East box score | Madonna box score | Ind. Tech box score | Campbellsville box score

Facing some of the nation's best, SAU's Catherine Wildner (right) was named to the Liz Lykowski All-Tournament Team this weekend.

Wildner did a little bit of everything, leading the Queen Bees in kills (35) and finishing second on the team in both assists (69) and digs (48) at the two-day tournament hosted by Indiana Tech. She came up with a pair of triple-doubles.

Her heroics weren't enough as St. Ambrose lost all four matches to drop to 11-7 overall.

No. 18 Indiana East 3, St. Ambrose 2
The Queen Bees started the tournament with a 25-21, 20-25, 25-12, 18-25, 11-15 loss to No. 18 Indiana East, the first of two losses to nationally-ranked opponents on the day. Catherine Wildner finished with a triple-double of 10 kills, 19 assists and 17 digs. Hannah Turner led the Bees with 12 kills while Tori Matzen finished with 11. Kailey Scott had a team-best 20 assists. Wildner was one of four Bees to reach double figures in digs, joining Jackie DalCerro (16), Lauren Metts (15) and Dolores Wildner (12).

No. 17 Madonna 3, St. Ambrose 1
After the tough five-set loss to the 18th-ranked team in the country, St. Ambrose immediately turned around and dropped a four-set match to No. 17 Madonna, 25-23, 27-29, 25-22, 25-19. Tori Matzen put down 13 kills against just one attack error for a .462 hitting percentage. Hannah Turner (left) finished with nine kills and Maddie McElroy added eight. Catherine Wildner (23) and Kailey Scott (19) had the top assist marks. Jackie DalCerro (right) came up with 34 digs while Wildner recorded 13 in defeat.

Indiana Tech 3, St. Ambrose 1
St. Ambrose pushed host Indiana Tech to four sets before falling 25-20, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19. Catherine Wildner again reached double digits in three categories, finishing with 11 kills, 13 assists and 10 digs. Alex Shipley just missed double figures with her nine kills. Meagan Hruska, Katie Bailey and Tori Matzen each ended with five. Kailey Scott led the Bees with 23 assists. Jackie DalCerro again led the team with 26 digs. Dolores Wildner had 18 digs and Lauren Metts recorded 12.

Campbellsville 3, St. Ambrose 0
The Bees ended the two-day tournament with a 25-12, 25-23, 25-23 loss to Campbellsville. Catherine Wildner had a .444 hitting percentage after registering nine kills and just one hitting error. Alex Shipley was second on the team with eight kills. Wildner also led the team with 14 assists, narrowly edging Kailey Scott's 12 assists. Jackie DalCerro ended with a team-high 16 digs.

St. Ambrose returns home and will look to get back on track against AIB Tuesday. The Midwest Collegiate Conference match begins at 7 p.m.

Queen Bees defeat Iowa Wesleyan 3-0

Sept. 27, 2012

Box score

Hannah Turner (right) finished with a match-high 14 kills to help St. Ambrose knock off Iowa Wesleyan in three sets Thursday night in Lee Lohman Arena. The 25-16, 25-15, 25-12 win moved the Queen Bees to 11-3 this season.

After leading just 15-14 in the first set, St. Ambrose controlled play the rest of the way. The Bees closed the opening set by winning 10 of the last 12 points. Turner recorded five kills during the late stretch.

A 12-1 run lifted SAU early in the second set. Maddie McElroy and Catherine Wildner each had two kills to help the Bees turn a 5-2 deficit into a 14-6 lead.

Tori Matzen and Turner had kills to hand St. Ambrose a quick 3-0 lead in the third set, and the Bees were never threatened from there. Matzen and Turner each had four kills in the final set.

Matzen narrowly missed double figures, finishing with nine kills. McElroy and Rebecca Gillen each had six and Wildner had five. Wildner also led the Bees with 24 assists while Kailey Scott came up with 13. Jackie DalCerro (17) and Dolores Wildner (10) led the team in digs.

The Bees will now have a week off before competing in the two-day Liz Lykowski Tournament, hosted by Indiana Tech, Oct. 5-6. SAU will be tested with matches against No. 18 Indiana-East, No. 17 Madonna, Indiana Tech and Campbellsville.

SAU drops to 0-2 in MCC following five-set loss at William Penn

Sept. 25, 2012

Box score

The start of Midwest Collegiate Conference play has been rough for St. Ambrose. After opening the year 9-0, the Queen Bees, 10-3 overall, dropped to 0-2 in league play following a 3-2 loss at William Penn Tuesday night.

SAU had its backs up against the wall all night against the Lady Statesmen. WPU (17-6, 1-0 MCC) won the first and third sets before ultimately prevailing 25-14, 30-32, 25-14, 21-25, 15-13.

After forcing a decisive fifth set, the Bees led twice in the early going of the final set, the last time at 5-4. From there, William Penn took control. The Statesmen won six straight points to grab a 10-5 advantage. Down 14-11, St. Ambrose fought off two match points on a kill from Maddie McElroy and a service ace from Dolores Wildner (right), but the rally ended there as WPU closed out the match on its third try.

The Bees struggled to stop the one-two punch of Lacey Taylor and Katie Rielly. The two Statesmen combined for 35 of the team's 61 kills and finished with just 11 hitting errors.

Alex Shipley and Rebecca Gillen shared the SAU team lead with 12 kills each. Tori Matzen finished with 11 and Catherine Wildner ended with 10. Kailey Scott recorded 24 assists and Kate Nowak had 21. Jackie DalCerro again led the defense with 29 digs. Dolores Wildner (15), Scott (14) and Catherine Wildner (10) also reached double figures.

SAU gets a break from conference play by hosting Iowa Wesleyan Thursday at 7 p.m.

Bees snap skid with win at Illinois Tech

Sept. 22, 2012

Box score

St. Ambrose wasn't going to let its losing streak get any bigger. After losing two straight, the Queen Bees got back to their winning ways by posting a 3-1 win at Illinois Tech Saturday afternoon. SAU is now 10-2 overall following the 23-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-17 win.

The Queen Bees dropped the first set before coming back to claim the second. SAU was able to jump to big leads in the third and fourth sets to grab the four-set victory.

The Bees used a balanced attack as five players finished with at least eight kills. Maddie McElroy led the team with 11 while Tori Matzen finished with 10. Catherine Wildner had nine kills, and Alex Shipley and Rebecca Gillen each recorded eight.

Kailey Scott (left) had a team-best 30 assists and Kate Nowak finished with 15. Jackie DalCerro (right) came up with 23 digs and Wildner also finished in double figures with 14.

St. Ambrose will return to Midwest Collegiate Conference play by visiting William Penn Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Queen Bees stumble at Trinity International

Sept. 21, 2012

Box score

Just days after dropping their first match of the year, St. Ambrose faltered on the road, losing in five sets at Trinity International Friday night. The 18-25, 25-21, 15-25, 25-23, 16-14 loss dropped the Queen Bees to 9-2 overall.

SAU appeared to be in good shape, leading two sets to one and 18-12 in the fourth set. But Trinity International (4-12) won 11 straight points to grab a 23-18 lead. Down 24-20, the Bees made a late rally to get within a point at 24-23 after back-to-back kills from Catherine Wildner (right) before the Trojans closed out the set to force a decisive fifth set.

In the fifth, St. Ambrose had to climb out of an early hole. Trailing 6-1 and 10-6, the Bees came back to tie the set at 11-11 on a Kate Nowak block. Tori Matzen and Rebecca Gillen combined for a block to give SAU a match point, and its first lead of the set since a 1-0 start, at 14-13. But that proved to be the Bees' final point as TIU grabbed the win with three straight points.

Gillen led St. Ambrose with 13 kills. Wildner and Matzen each reached double figures with 12 kills. Kailey Scott (33) and Nowak (15) combined for 48 of the team's 56 assists. Jackie DalCerro and Wildner finished with 23 and 21 digs, respectively. Dolores Wildner finished with 16 digs.

The Bees won't have long to try to snap their two-game skid as SAU visits Illinois Tech Saturday at 1 p.m.

SAU suffers first loss of year to No. 21 Viterbo

Sept. 19, 2012

Box score | Photos

St. Ambrose saw its perfect start to the season come to an end with a 3-1 loss to No. 21 Viterbo Wednesday night in Lee Lohman Arena. The Queen Bees are now 9-1 overall and 0-1 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference following the 25-11, 22-25, 25-17, 25-21 loss.

In front of an energized crowd on "White Out Wednesday," it was the visitors who got off to a strong start. Viterbo (16-4, 1-0 MCC) won the first four points of the match and never trailed in the opening set. The Bees did get as close as a single point at 4-3 and again at 5-4, but the V-Hawks put together 11 straight points to pull away and claim the first set.

It was the Bees who got out to a quick start in the second set. Two early kills from Alex Shipley put SAU in front 4-2, and Kailey Scott's kill ended a four-point spurt to extend the lead to 7-2. Viterbo rallied and eventually took the lead at 17-16. The teams traded points until the set was knotted at 21-21. Tori Matzen put down a kill and Maddie McElroy (left) and Rebecca Gillen (right) combined on a block to push the lead to 23-21. After a V-Hawk point, McElroy recorded a kill and the Bees took advantage of a Viterbo hitting error to even the match at 1-1.

The momentum was short lived as the V-Hawks slowly pulled away from the Bees in the third set to grab a 2-1 lead.

The final set was close throughout. Shipley tied the set at 21-21 with her eighth kill of the night. But the Bees did not score again as Viterbo closed out the match with four straight points.

Gillen led SAU with 11 kills. Matzen finished behind Shipley with six kills while Catherine Wildner and Meagan Hruska each added five. Scott led St. Ambrose with 21 assists and Kate Nowak finished with 16. Jackie DalCerro (12) and Wildner (11) both reached double digits in digs.

Queen Bees take down Saint Xavier, move to 9-0

Sept 12, 2012

Box Score | Photos

Saint Xavier had no answers for the Queen Bees on Wednesday night as St. Ambrose came out fast in the first set and never looked back; taking down Saint Xavier in straight sets 25-19, 26-24, 25-18.

After Saint Xavier scored the first two points of the first set, the Bees went on a 5-0 run sparked by kills from Catherine Wildner, Tori Matzen and Alex Shipley (right). The Bees controlled the rest of the first set and set the tone for the rest of the match.

The second set was a back-and-forth affair with the Bees taking an early 4-3 lead after a kill by Maddie McElroy. The game was back and forth after that with the Cougars from Saint Xavier eventually tying the set up at 14-14. SXU took the lead 24-22 but missed the set point serve following at St. Ambrose time-out. St. Ambrose tied the score at 24-24 after a kill by Wildner. A Cougar hitting error and a Matzen kill helped the Queen Bees capture the second set.

The Queen Bees took the early third set lead with kills by Rebecca Gillen and Shipley. They never trailed in route to taking down the Cougars in the third set in commanding fashion.

St. Ambrose finished with nine total team blocks while Saint Xavier only recorded one.

Shipley finished with a game-high 12 kills and only three hitting errors. Wildner had nine kills and only one hitting error.

McElroy finished with eight kills, while Matzen and Gillen both recorded seven. Kailey Scott had 21 assists while Kate Nowak added 16. Jackie DalCerro (right) had a match-high 13 digs while Scott added 10 as well.

The Queen Bees will look to start 10-0 for the first time in more than 14 years when they host nationally-ranked No. 22 Viterbo University next Wednesday at 7 p.m.

McElroy, Gillen spark sweep of Ashford

Sept. 6, 2012

Box score

Maddie McElroy (left) and Rebecca Gillen (right) combined for 23 kills to help St. Ambrose remain unbeaten with a 25-20, 25-12, 25-17 win at Ashford Thursday night. The Queen Bees are now 8-0 overall.

After trailing 4-2 in the opening set, the Bees controlled the rest of the match. A five-point run, sparked by two kills from McElroy and one from Gillen, put SAU in front 7-4 and St. Ambrose wouldn't trail the rest of the match.

The second set was decided after the Bees won 12 straight points to take a commanding 18-4 lead. Catherine Wildner put down three kills and Tori Matzen recorded two, and the Bees picked up three blocks during the spurt.

Leading 7-4 early in the third, SAU dashed any Ashford comeback hopes by reeling off four straight points, started by another McElroy kill, to gain control.

St. Ambrose finished with 46 kills while Ashford ended with just 26.

McElroy finished with a game-high 13 kills and had just two attack errors in the three-set win while Gillen had 10 kills and no errors in 19 attempts.

Wildner and Matzen each finished with seven kills and Alex Shipley had six. Kailey Scott had a match-high 22 assists while Kate Nowak recorded 14. Jackie DalCerro (19) and Dolores Wildner (13) each reached double figures in digs.

The Bees will look to keep their unbeaten start alive by next hosting Saint Xavier Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Matzen named MCC Player of the Week

Sept. 5, 2012

MCC release

After leading the Queen Bees to a perfect start, Tori Matzen was named the Midwest Collegiate Conference Women's Volleyball Player of the Week today.

The senior middle hitter from Orion, Ill., totaled 42 kills and finished with an incredible .494 attack percentage in helping St. Ambrose win all four matches at the Saint Xavier/Trinity Christian Crossover Tournament last week. The Bees are off to a 7-0 start this season.

Matzen finished with double-digit kills in three of the four matches, including 15 in a 3-2 win over host Trinity Christian to start the two-day tournament. She added six block assists against TCC.

Her two attack errors against Trinity Christian would be Matzen's last of the weekend. She compiled 27 kills without an error in 53 chances over the last three matches.

In 3-1 wins over Roosevelt and Judson, she finished with 11 kills. In a 3-0 shutout of Indiana-Kokomo, she had five kills in limited minutes.

Through the first seven matches, Matzen leads the Queen Bees with 78 total kills and a .444 attack percentage.

Matzen was one of three Bees honored by the conference. Ashley Dexter (offensive) and Kelly Schroeder (defensive) won the two weekly women's soccer awards.

Queen Bees win five-set thriller at Cornell

Sept. 4, 2012

Box score

It took 225 total points and more than two hours but St. Ambrose was able to improve to 7-0 on the season after outlasting Cornell 3-2 Tuesday night in Mount Vernon, Iowa. The Queen Bees ultimately prevailed 25-21, 23-25, 25-20, 19-25, 22-20.

Like they have all season, the Bees got contributions across the board. Five different players reached double figures in kills, four had at least 10 digs and a pair had more than 20 assists.

Tori Matzen led SAU with 18 kills. She finished with only three attack errors in 37 attempts to finish with a .405 hitting percentage. Alex Shipley (left) had 12 kills, Catherine Wildner (right) added 11 and Rebecca Gillen and Maddie McElroy each finished with 10.

Kailey Scott (28) and Kate Nowak (23) combined for 51 of the team's 62 total assists.

Defensively, Jackie DalCerro again paced the team, finishing with 33 digs. Scott had 17, Dolores Wildner recorded 16 and Catherine Wildner was credited with 15.

The Bees will look for their eighth straight win to start the season Thursday night with a 7:30 p.m. match at former Midwest Collegiate Conference foe Ashford.

SAU wins crossover tournament to move to 6-0 on year

Sept. 1, 2012

TCC box score | Roosevelt box score | Judson box score | Ind.-Kokomo box score

St. Ambrose moved to 6-0 on the season by winning all four matches at the Saint Xavier/Trinity Christian Crossover Volleyball Tournament Friday and Saturday. The Queen Bees defeated Trinity Christian, Roosevelt, Judson and Indiana-Kokomo to finish as one of just two unbeaten teams (along with Saint Xavier) at the tournament.

St. Ambrose 3, Trinity Christian 2
St. Ambrose opened the tournament with a tough five-set win over Trinity Christian. The Bees won the first two sets before ultimately needing five sets to close out the 25-22, 25-21, 19-25, 18-25, 15-12 win. Tori Matzen led three Bees with double-figure kills, finishing with 15. Catherine Wildner recorded 12 and Rebecca Gillen added 10. Kailey Scott (28) and Kate Nowak (21) combined for 49 of the team's 56 assists. Wildner led a strong defensive effort with 27 digs. Jackie DalCerro chipped in with 17.

St. Ambrose 3, Roosevelt 1
Catherine Wildner led St. Ambrose with 12 kills in a 25-21, 24-26, 25-15, 25-23 win over Roosevelt to close play Friday. Tori Matzen had 11 kills and no attack errors in 23 attempts. Maddie McElroy also reached double figures in finishing with 10 kills. Kailey Scott (left) and Kate Nowak each finished with 19 assists. Jackie DalCerro (right) had 33 digs and Catherine Wildner added 23.

St. Ambrose 3, Judson 1
Tori Matzen (11), Catherine Wildner (11) and Alex Shipley (10) all reached double digits in kills to help St. Ambrose defeat Judson 25-17, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21. For the second straight match, Matzen picked up 11 kills without an attack error. Kailey Scott and Kate Nowak each had 22 assists. Jackie DalCerro had 30 digs and Dolores Wildner registered 17.

St. Ambrose 3, Ind.-Kokomo 0
The Queen Bees wrapped up an undefeated tournament by taking down Indiana-Kokomo 25-18, 25-15, 25-23 in the teams' finale Saturday afternoon. Alex Shipley led St. Ambrose with 12 kills, Maddie McElroy finished with eight and Tori Matzen closed her strong tournament with five kills. Kailey Scott had team highs of 17 assists and 10 digs, while Kate Nowak added 10 assists.

The Bees will visit Cornell Tuesday for a match beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Queen Bees open year with two impressive wins

Aug. 25, 2012

Davenport box score | Robert Morris box score

St. Ambrose got off to a strong start in 2012 by knocking off a pair of schools receiving votes in the NAIA national coaches poll. The Queen Bees defeated Davenport 3-1 and Robert Morris 3-0 as part of the two-day, season-opening SAU Early Bird Tournament.

The Bees had to dig out of some early holes to get past Davenport 25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 25-23. SAU was down 17-11 in the first set before rallying with five straight points to get back into the match. The Bees then closed the set by winning seven straight points to erase a 22-18 deficit.

After Davenport evened the match at 1-1, St. Ambrose fought back from an early 9-4 deficit. The fourth set started the same way with Davenport winning the first four points of the set only to see SAU ultimately recover.

Tori Matzen (left) led the Bees with 12 kills, against just two attack errors, and Rebecca Gillen added 10 kills. Catherine Wildner finished with seven. Kailey Scott shared match-high honors with 23 assists while Kate Nowak (right) came off the bench to hand out 11 assists. Jackie DalCerro (17), Wildner (16) and Scott (15) all reached double figures in digs. Gillen was credited with six total blocks and Maddie McElroy had five as part of the Bees' 11 total team blocks.

Balance was the key as St. Ambrose picked up a less-dramatic 25-21, 25-21, 25-12 win over Robert Morris.

Matzen finished with six kills to lead the team, but four other players - Gillen, Wildner, McElroy and Alex Shipley - each finished with five kills. Katie Bailey added three. Nowak led the team with 14 assists as Scott finished with 12. Dolores Wildner had a team-best 10 digs.

St. Ambrose will next compete in the Saint Xavier-Trinity Christian Crossover Tournament in Palos Heights, Ill. The Bees will face Trinity Christian, Roosevelt, Judson and Indiana-Kokomo in the two-day event beginning Friday, Aug. 31.

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