Box Score The Webster University volleyball team ended its four-year championship run in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, falling to Westminster College, 3-1, in a semi-final match at Greenville, IL, on November 7. The Gorloks battled hard to win the first set, then after losing another barn burner in the second, couldn't rebound as the Blue Jays took the next two sets and the match.
In the first set, Webster fell behind 9-12, then 14-17, before it made its move. The Gorloks pulled within one at 19-20, before tying it up at 22-22. Webster had set point at 24-23 but after Westminster tied it at 24-24, the Gorloks took the next two points and the set, 26-24.
Using the momentum of the first, the Gorloks took a 6-1 lead in set two before the Blue Jays cut the lead to 9-7. Despite a Webster timeout to help turn the tide, Westminster would take a 19-14 lead before the Gorloks would cut it to 19-17, forcing a timeout by the Blue Jays. Webster took a 21-20 lead, then led 23-22, and were tied at 24-24 before losing 24-26 as Westminster tied the match up.
Westminster took that momentum to build an early lead in set three, taking a 13-6 lead and coasting to a 25-14 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Blue Jays kept it up in the fourth set, taking a 10-5, then a 20-10 lead before winning the set, 25-17, and the match
Jory Siebenmorgen (JR, Eureka, MO/Eureka HS) had eight kills for Webster, and Rachel Nelson (SR, Papillion, NE, Papillion LaVista South HS) had six kills and a .333 attack percentage in her final match for the Gorloks. Kelsey Hamann (FR, Waterloo, IL/Waterloo HS) had a team-high 17 assists and Katie O'Toole (JR, St. Louis, MO/Lutheran South HS) led with 22 digs. Samantha Budrovich (FR, St. Louis, MO/Lutheran South HS) had four kills and 13 digs.
Nelson also had a solo block and two block assists, with her performance earning her a spot on the 2015 SLIAC Volleyball All-Tournament Team.
The Blue Jays had defeated the Gorloks at Grant Gymnasium, 3-1, on October 10. But Webster gave Westminster a scare in the rematch, with the Blue Jays having to come from behind after being down 2-0, to defeat the Gorloks in a tie-breaker on October 27 at Fulton.
Webster finished the regular season with a 14-4 mark in the SLIAC and were 16-18 overall. The Gorloks were trying to break their own record of four straight SLIAC championships. Coming off a four-year streak, Webster also won four in a row from 2006-09. Webster has won the most SLIAC championships (12), including eight of the last 10 years now.
After a 21-match win streak by the Gorloks vs. the Blue Jays from 2005-2013, Westminster has won four of the last six meeting the last two seasons. The Blue Jays improved to 22-11 as they advanced to the championship match vs. host Greenville College.
Four Gorloks played their final matches for Webster, Nelson, Emma Cabutti (Mahomet, IL/Mahomet-Seymour HS), Kaitlin Kendall (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon HS), and Dani Roosman (Cape Girardeau, MO/Notre Dame HS).
