The Webster University volleyball team had a split at Grant Gym on September 24, beating Fontbonne University and losing a heart-breaker to Westminster College.  Westminster entered the match undefeated in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play and held onto that spot with the win over the Gorloks.

Against Fontbonne, despite entering the match with a 1-4 record in the SLIAC, Fontbonne hung tough with Webster throughout.

The Griffins took a 5-2 lead in set one before the Gorloks gained traction.  Webster took the lead at 8-7, but Fontbonne temporarily regained the lead at 13-11.  The Gorloks made another run to go back up, 18-14 before a Griffin timeout.  That slowed Webster as Fontbonne cut the deficit to 23-22, but after a Webster timeout the Gorloks took two points and the set, 25-22.  Emily Knowles (SR, Belleville, IL/Mascoutah) led Webster in the set with three kills, a block solo and two block assists.

Fontbonne hung with Webster early in the second set as well, leading 11-10.  The Gorloks led, 14-12, but after a timeout by the Griffins, Fontbonne tied the set at 15-15.  The set was still tied at 22-22, when a kill by Kelsey Hamann (SO, Waterloo, IL/Waterloo) gave the Gorloks a 23-22 lead.  A kill by Jory Siebenmorgen (SR, Eureka, MO/Eureka) gave Webster the set win, 25-23.  Siebenmorgen had four kills in the set and Knowles three, with a block assist.  Katie O'Toole (SR, St. Louis, MO/Lutheran South) had seven digs.

In set three, once again Fontbonne took the early lead, going up 12-7 before a Webster timeout.  The Griffins extended their lead to 20-12 before a pair of Gorlok points gave them faint hope for the set.  Fontbonne responded, winning the set, 25-17.  Knowles led the Gorloks in the set with four kills in just five attack attempts.  Ten attack errors were costly for Webster in the set.

Set four proved no different, with Fontbonne holding an 13-10 lead in the early going.  Anytime the Gorloks would make a run, the Griffins had an answer, leading 18-14, as Webster called a timeout.  Down 19-17, the Gorloks won a marathon volley for a point to make it 19-18, and seemed to energize them.   Webster took the lead at 22-21 on a Samantha Budrovich (SO, St. Louis, MO/Lutheran South) kill, and another kill by Siebenmorgen made it 24-22.  Siebenmorgen finished it off with one more kill as Webster won the set, 25-23, and the match.

Siebenmorgen had seven kills in set four and 14 in the match.  Knowles finished with 12 kills and a .310 attack pct.   Hamann had 20 assists and 19 digs and Ashley Robinson (JR, Bloomington, IL/Bloomington) had 19 assists and 15 digs.

With 40 digs in the match, O'Toole moved into fourth place on Webster's career all-time high digs list, passing Erin Grobe (2005-08), who had 1547.  O'Toole now has 1578 total.  Next on the list at #3, with 1615, is Susi Riegel (2003-06).  Webster kept alive a 21-match win streak vs. the Griffins, dating back to 2006.

Against Westminster, Webster came out fired up against the first place Blue Jays.  The Gorloks led, 10-7, before the Blue Jays pulled ahead, 16-12.  Webster tied the match at 16-16 with a four-point run.  The teams were still tied at 20-20 when a kill by O'Toole gave the Gorloks the lead.  Webster took the next two points but Westminster made it, 23-22.  A kill by Siebenmorgen put Webster at set point and a Blue Jay error gave them the first, 25-23.  Torie Grassi (SO, St. Louis, MO/Rosati-Kain) had six kills and a .400 attack pct. in the set.

In set two, the Blue Jays jumped out to an 11-5 lead.  Each time the Gorloks would string a couple points together, the Blue Jays had an answer, extending their lead to 19-13.  Webster climbed to within three, at 20-17, but Westminster answered with five straight to win the set, 25-17, and even the match.  The Blue Jays had 14 kills in the set to the Gorloks' two.

The Gorloks took an early lead in set three, with a kill by Robinson putting them up, 9-6.  A 13-8 Webster edge prompted a timeout by the Blue Jays.  The Gorloks extended their lead to 18-11 before the Blue Jays closed to 20-15.  Webster closed out the set with a 5-1 run, featuring kills by Siebenmorgen and Grassi for the 25-16 final.  Grassi had four kills in seven attacks and Siebenmorgen was three for five.

Westminster started out of the gates quick in set four, taking a 10-3 lead, determined to send the match to a tie-breaker.  The Blue Jays extended their lead to 14-4, with Webster having an abbreviated comeback to close to 22-16, before closing out the set 25-16 and sending the match to the tie-breaker.  The Gorlok attack doomed the Gorloks in the set, going 7-43 in attempts with 10 errors.

Webster started up 3-1 in the tie-breaker but Westminster quickly took a 4-3 lead.  Three straight Blue Jay errors gave Webster the lead again at 6-4.  An 8-6 Gorlok lead disappeared as the Blue Jays had three straight points for a 9-8 lead.  A kill by Knowles tied the set at 10-10 and a Blue Jay error gave Webster an 11-10 lead.  Westminster came back with three straight points to take a 13-11 lead.  The Blue Jays would go on to win, 15-12, to win the match 3-2 and remain undefeated in the SLIAC.

Grassi had 14 kills and Siebenmorgen 13 in the match.  Hamann had 24 assists to lead Webster and O'Toole had a team-high 21 digs.

Webster is now 6-2 in the SLIAC and 10-6 overall.  Westminster improves to 8-0 in the SLIAC and 11-3 overall.  The Gorloks travel to Carlinville, IL, on September 27 to face Blackburn College (IL), and to Greenvillle College (IL) on September 29.