Box Score The Webster University volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on the opening day of the Rose-Hulman Tournament in Terre Haute, IN, on September 6.  The Gorloks fell, 3-2, to Rose-Hulman in the opener, and lost to St. Ambrose University (IA), 3-1, in the day's finale.

Webster had the host team, Rose-Hulman, down two sets to none, before dropping three straight, including the tie-breaker.  The Gorloks won the first set, 25-20, then took the second, 25-16, and looked poised to knock off the Engineers.  But Rose-Hulman won two straight hard fought sets, 25-23 and 25-21, before winning the tie-breaker also, 15-11.

The Gorloks fell behind, 6-1, in the tie-breaker and came within two, 12-10, before losing.  Senior Sam Kersting (St. Louis, MO/Lindbergh) had five kills in the tie-breaker to keep the Gorloks in striking distance.  Kersting wound up with 18 kills for the match as Webster outhit Rose-Hulman, .217 to .155.  But a large edge in service aces for the Engineers, 10-2, helped offset Webster's kill advantage.

Rachel Nelson (JR, Papillion, NE/Papillion LaVista-South HS) had 13 kills, and led Webster with a .393 hitting average.  Emma Cabutti (JR, Mahomet, IL/Mahomet-Seymour HS) led the Gorloks with 19 digs in the match.

Against St. Ambrose, an NAIA program, Webster lost the opening set 20-25, but evened the match with a 25-16 win in the second set.  The Fighting Bees went on to win the next two sets, 25-16 and 25-18, to take the match.  No individual stats were immediately available for the St. Ambrose match.

The Gorloks are 2-3 on the season, and will face Defiance College (OH) and Ohio Wesleyan University on day two of the tournament on September 7.