The Webster University volleyball team had a chance to win the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title outright, but had to settle for a second place tie with a 3-1 loss at Westminster College, on November 1 in Fulton, MO. The Gorloks jumped out in front with a first set win, but the Blue Jays swept the next three sets for the win.
In
set one, the scored see-sawed back and forth with the scored tied 11 times as the teams were deadlocked at 13-13. A kill by Samantha Kruse (FR, Waterloo, IL/Waterloo) and a pair by Taylor Kissel (SO, St. Louis, MO/Lutheran South) helped Webster open up a 17-14 lead. After a pair of kills by Samantha Budrovich (JR, St. Louis, MO/Lutheran South), and a pair of Blue Jay attack errors, the Gorloks led, 22-18, and another kill by Budrovich made it 23-19. Kelsey Hamann (JR, Waterloo, IL/Waterloo) finished off the first set with a kill as Webster won, 25-21. The Gorloks only had five attack errors in the set.
The teams opened up
set two trading points as well, and were tied at 8-8. Westminster opened up a three point lead at 11-8 and, up 15-12, to extend its lead to 18-12. Still down, 21-17, a kill by Rachel Mencel (SR, Colchester, IL/West Prairie) and Blue Jay error made it a 21-19 deficit. Three straight errors by the Gorloks ended the set as Westminster won, 25-20. Both teams made numerous errors as Westminster outhit Webster .020 to.000, but the Blue Jays prevailed.
Webster fell into a hold early in
set three, falling behind 9-5. Kills by Macee Owen (JR, Tucson, AZ/Empire) and Torie Grassi (JR, St. Louis, MO/Rosati-Kain), and a service ace by Maria Soffner (SR, St. Louis, MO/Incarnate Word Academy) helped pulled the Gorloks to 10-10. Up by just one at 14-13, the Blue Jays closed out the set with an 11-1 run. After Westminster made it 17-14, they took the next eight points to win the set, 25-14. The Blue Jays solved their hitting problems with 15 kills and just three attack errors.
Once again in
set four, the teams traded points early with several ties, and the score at 5-5. Westminster opened up a 9-5 lead after a pair of kills and a pair of Webster attack errors. The Blue Jays took six of the next eight points to extend their lead to 15-7, then 19-8. A kill by Budrovich made it 21-10, and another, plus several Blue Jay errors 23-15 but it was too little too late as Westminster won 25-15, and took the match, 3-1.
Westminster finished with 50 kills to Webster's 31 in the match. Budrovich led the Gorloks with seven kills and Emi Beining (SR, Festus, MO/Lutheran South) had six kills at a .462 attack pct. Ashley Robinson (SR, Bloomington, IL/Bloomington) had a team-high 16 assists and Soffner had 24 digs.
Webster will now face Greenville College (15-3, 24-7) in the first round of the SLIAC Tournament on November 4, in Fulton. Westminster will face Principia College (14-4, 22-6) in the other semi-final. The tournament champion advances to the NCAA III Championships.
The Gorloks lost to the Blue Jays, 3-2, on October 14 in New Albany, IN. Webster had snapped a four-game losing streak vs. Westminster last October, but the Blue Jays have now won six of the last seven meetings between the two schools. Webster leads the overall series between the two programs, 37-19.
Webster finishes 15-3 in the SLIAC and is 17-13 overall. Westminster winds up 16-2 in the SLIAC and is 20-10.
