Nov. 17, 2007

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. - In its semifinal match of the 2007 Atlantic 10 Championship the Xavier volleyball team defeated Saint Louis, 3-2, to advance to the finals against Dayton on Sunday. The Musketeers (23-8) were led by Sophomore Hillary Otte who tied her career high with 20 kills and sophomore Kelly Ruth who posted a new career-high 24 digs as three Musketeers posted double-double's in the match.

Also for Xavier, senior Jenni Horvath tallied her fifth double-double of the season as she smashed 14 kills and got under 20 digs. Ruth also had a double-double on the night, her 13th of the year, as she posted 11 kills to go along with her 24 digs. Freshman Katie Russell had 10 kills and 14 digs for her fifth double-double of the year. The 2007 A-10 Player of the Year, senior Jill Quayle hit .359 for the night (18-4-39) and had six total blocks. Also in double-digit digs was sophomore Lauren Kaminsky with 17.

In game one Saint Louis went up by two early, 3-1, until an assisted block from Quayle and Otte and then a service ace from freshman Claire Paszkiewicz tied the frame at five-all. The largest lead for either team would be two until SLU took a three-point advantage, 23-20, right into a Xavier timeout. Out of the break the Billikens were able to stretch their lead to four, 28-24, and the Musketeers called their second timeout of the game. SLU scored two straight points to close the first game with a 30-24 win.

SLU held control in game two until XU pulled ahead, 9-8, on a kill from Ruth. That lead was erased as the Billikens used a 5-0 run to take a 13-9 advantage. Saint Louis went up by as many as six, 18-12, but XU pulled to within two, 19-17, off a kill from Quayle. Three kills from Otte and one each from senior Horvath and Russell got the Musketeers to within one, 26-25.

XU decided to take a timeout with SLU leading, 28-26. Out of the break, back-to-back Musketeer kills from Quayle and Ruth knotted the game at 28-28. After a timeout by SLU, Xavier held game-point at 30-29 but the two squads continued to trade points. The Billikens were finally able to get a two-point advantage to take game two, 34-32.

Down two games to none, the Musketeers came out fighting in game three. An assisted block from Russell and Ruth put XU up by two, 4-2, but Saint Louis would go ahead one, 10-9. Xavier got three straight points from Quayle, an assisted block and two kills, to take the advantage at 24-22 causing SLU to take a timeout. The Musketeers continued to battle as the Billikens attempted a comeback. At the end of the frame Xavier was still alive after taking a game-three victory, 30-26.

Game four was a different tale as XU took a commanding 7-2 lead to open the frame on the strength of three kills from Otte and SLU decided to take a minute to talk it over. Xavier never relinquished the lead and went up by five more than once. Saint Louis battled back, putting together a 4-0 run to get within two, 22-20. But XU used its own 4-0 run, which included Quayle's 32^nd solo block of the season, to ice the frame. Xavier tied the match, 2-2, with a 30-23 game-four victory.

The deciding fifth game started off with a kill from Horvath to give XU the early lead. A kill from Russell and a service ace by junior Jenn Welsh put the Musketeers up by three, 6-3. Three straight Billiken points tied the game at six apiece but Xavier took a two-point advantage, 8-6, off an assisted block by Horvath and Russell. XU called a timeout to strategize and out of the break, the Musketeers collected two points from consecutive kills (Otte, Horvath). With the score at 11-7 in favor of XU, the Billikens used a timeout of their own. The Musketeers held match-point at 14-7 when Horvath and Russell connected again for an assisted block to pick up the fifth-game win, 15-7, and the match, 3-2.

For Saint Louis, Sammi McCloud posted a match-high 21 kills and Whitney Behrens tallied a team-high 20 digs.

The Musketeers return to action Sunday as they are set to face Dayton in the Championship match. First serve is set for 1:00 p.m. in Halton Arena. Please continue to check www.GOXAVIER.com for the latest updates and stats.