The Webster University volleyball team competed in the Washington University Baden Invitational on September 2, in Clayton, MO.  The Gorloks finished the day with a split, losing in a tie-breaker, 3-2, to Hanover College (IN), and defeating Rose-Hulman Institute (IN), 3-0.

After a hard-fought loss in the opener to Hanover, the Gorloks dispatched Rose-Hulman in straight sets.  The Gorloks and the Fightin' Engineers battled point for point in the first two sets.  Down, 14-15, in set one, Webster reeled off five straight to take a 19-15 lead and were able to hang on for a 25-21 win.  In the second set, the teams were tied at 16-16.  The Gorloks took a two-point lead at 18-16 and were never headed again as they won, 25-22.  Webster fell behind, 5-9, in the third but had a 12-2 run to pull ahead, 17-11.  Rose-Hulman made a late run but it wasn't enough as Webster won the set, 25-23, and the match.  Webster ended a three-match skid against Rose-Hulman, member of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

Jory Siebenmorgen (SR, Eureka, MO/Eureka) had nine kills to lead Webster.  Macee Owen (SO, Tuscon, AZ/Empire) had eight kills and 10 digs.  Torie Grassi (SO, St. Louis, MO/Rosati-Kain) had seven kills and Emi Beining (JR, Festus, MO/Lutheran South) had six.  Kelsey Hamann(SO, Waterloo, IL/Waterloo) had a team high 19 assists and added nine digs.  Katie O'Toole (SR, St. Louis, MO/Lutheran South) led with 17 digs.  Emily Knowles (SR, Belleville, IL/Mascoutah) had five block assists in the match.

In the opening match, the Gorloks won the first two sets, but saw the match slip away as they lost 25-21, 25-18, 22-25, 22-25, 5-15, as the Panthers proved to be a feisty opponent.

It was back and forth action in set one, with the Gorloks down 15-16, before Webster went on a 9-2 run to put the set away, 25-21.  The second set was more of the same, with the lead going back and forth and the score tied at 17-17.  Webster made its move with a 6-0 run and scoring eight of the last nine points in the set for a 25-18 final.  

In set three, down 12-18, a seven-point run gave Webster the lead at 19-18, but the Panthers slipped by for a 25-22 win.  Down two games to one, the Panthers made their move to tie the match up, opening up a 12-7 lead.  A timeout by Webster coach Merry Graf helped slow them down as the Gorloks pulled within two at 14-16 before the Panthers called a timeout of their own.  The Hanover timeout didn't slow Webster as it took a 21-19 lead.  But the Panthers stormed back, on four kills and two Webster errors, to tie the match with a 25-22 set win.

The Panthers carried their momentum over into the tie-breaker set, winning 15-5.  A win over Hanover, winners of the Heartland Conference in 2015 at 9-0, and 23-9 overall last season, would have been a good one for the Gorloks.  The last time Webster faced Hanover was in 2014 at Wash U, with the Gorloks winning 3-0.

Owen had a big match for Webster, with 18 kills and 13 digs. Siebenmorgen had 14 kills and a .333 attack percent, and four block assists. Hamann led the Gorloks with 24 assists and O'Toole had a team-high 36 digs.

The Gorloks are 2-1 on the season.  Webster completes play in the Baden Invitational with a match vs. Knox College (IL) on September 3 at 9:30 a.m.  The team will have its Blue vs. Gold Intrasquad Scrimmage on September 7 at Grant before heading to Jacksonville, IL, to take on host Illinois College and North Park University (IL) on September 9.