WEBSTER GROVES – Webster University begins its quest for its 13th all-time St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament championship on Saturday, Nov. 3 as the regular season SLIAC co-champion and No. 1 seeded Gorloks host No. 4 seeded Westminster (Mo.) College (13-13 overall, 11-7 SLIAC) in the first of two semifinal matches at Grant Gymnasium on the campus of Webster University.
 
The Gorloks, who shared the regular season SLIAC title with Greenville after both teams finished with identical 16-2 league records, comes into the SLIAC Tournament looking to snap a four-match losing skid after having its school record 14 match win streak snapped last Friday against Coe College at the Holiday Inn Express Classic III hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill. Webster is making its 24th all-time and 15th consecutive appearance in the SLIAC Tournament this year.
 
For the second consecutive season, the SLIAC Tournament will feature the exact same teams as the four teams that qualified this season also played in last year's tournament hosted by Westminster. Greenville, who was the No. 2 seed, won the championship after earning a five-set victory over Westminster to claim its third consecutive SLIAC Tournament title and the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament.
 
The only difference between this year's tournament field and last season's field are the seeds as Westminster was the No. 1 seed, while Greenville was the No. 2 seed, Webster was seeded third and Principia was seeded fourth, but this season, Webster is seeded No. 1, while Greenville is seeded No. 2, Principia is the No. 3 seed and Westminster is the No. 4 seed. Saturday's other tournament semifinal will match No. 2 seed Greenville (21-10 overall, 16-2 SLIAC) facing No. 3 seed Principia (18-4 overall, 15-3 SLIAC) at 4 p.m. The championship match is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday and will feature the two semifinal winners. 
 
Webster, who ended SLIAC play by winning its final 16 league matches, including winning 15 of them in straight sets, comes into the tournament as a slight favorite as they went undefeated (9-0) on its home court during the regular season and they come into the postseason as the top defensive team in the league as they are averaging 22.91 digs per set, which is tops in the league and second nationally in Division III, while on offense the Gorloks are second in the league in hitting percentage (.174) and leads the league in kills per set (12.12) and is second in assists per set (11.09).
 
Leading the way for the Gorloks defense is sophomore libero Kristen Farrah (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell). Farrah, who is second nationally in Division III in both digs (786) and digs per set (8.10), has recorded double-digit digs in all 29 matches this season, including 21 matches with 20 or more digs. She holds the school's single season mark for digs and her 1,185 career digs is 10th on the school's all-time list. Farrah is one of just 14 players in Webster history to record 1,000 or more career digs.
 
In addition to Farrah, sophomore outside hitter Samantha Kruse (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo) is second on the team and eighth in the league in digs per set as she is averaging 4.01 per set and has had double-digit digs in 20 matches and has had nine double-doubles. Offensively, Kruse leads the team in kills (261) and service aces (35) and is second in kills per set (2.72) and total attacks (821) and third in attack percentage (.225).
 
In addition to Kruse, senior right side hitter Torie Grassi (St. Louis, Rosati-Kain) leads the team in kills per set (2.76) and hitting percentage (.256) and is second in kills (221) and third in total attacks (632). Grassi has had 11 matches with double-digit kills and has hit over .300 in 11 matches, while senior outside hitter Samantha Budrovich (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South) is third Gorlok with 200 kills this season as she has recorded 205 kills and is averaging 2.14 kills per set and leads the team in attacks with 827 and is fourth in digs with 251. Budrovich has recorded five double-doubles this season.
 
Setting the table for Webster's offense is the two-headed setting tandem of senior Kelsey Hamann (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo) and junior Jenna Rodriguez (Smithton, Ill./Freeburg). Hamann is sixth in the league in assists as she averages 5.17 per set and is third on the team in digs per set as she averages 3.25 and enters the postseason needing just 46 digs to join the school's 1,000 Dig Club, while Rodriguez averages 4.42 assists and 2.88 digs per set and is second on the team in aces with 31. Combined, Hamann and Rodriguez have recorded 24 double-doubles as Hamann leads the Gorloks with 13 and Rodriguez has had 11, including two in her last four matches.
 
Webster, who is coached by Merry Graf, has posted a 32-12 all-time record in the SLIAC Tournament, including winning a league-best 12 titles (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014). In addition, Webster has been tournament runners-up three times (2004, 2005 and 2010).
 
Graf is in her 18th season at the helm of the Gorloks women's volleyball program and has posted a 357-206 record at Webster and has gone 241-42 in SLIAC matches, including a 16-2 mark this season in league play. Earlier this season, Graf recorded her 400th career collegiate coaching victory at Westminster (Mo.) College and has compiled a 411-294 record in 23 years as a collegiate coach.
 
During the regular season, Webster went a combined 4-2 against the other three teams that have qualified for this year's SLIAC Tournament as Webster split its two matches with both Greenville and Westminster and won both of its meetings with Principia. Five of those six matches were played away from Webster as the Gorloks played Greenville twice on their home court and played a neutral site match at Greenville against Westminster and then travel to Fulton, Mo., for a match on Sept. 26. The Gorloks played a home-and-home with Principia.
 
In those six matches against this year's SLIAC Tournament field, Webster averaged 11.95 kills, 25.47 digs and 1.58 blocks per set and hit .149, while holding their opponents to a .125 hitting percentage. The four matches Webster won, they won in straight sets, including posting an impressive 25-20, 25-18, 26-24 win at Greenville on Oct. 10. That was just the fifth time this season that the Panthers has been swept in a match and the only time it occurred in league play.
 
Saturday's semifinal winners will meet for the championship of the SLIAC Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. There will be admission charged for the SLIAC Tournament matches as the ticket prices are $5 for adults and $2 for students and children under 16, while children under 5 will be admitted for free. Webster students attending the tournament matches at Grant Gymnasium will be admitted for free with a valid Webster student ID.
 
Along with Webster's league record 12 tournament titles, Westminster has won two titles with the most recent coming in 1998 as the Blue Jays are making their 17 all-time tournament appearance and have posted a 16-14 record in the event. Greenville has won four titles, including the last three titles and is 12-12 all-time in the tournament as they are making its 16th appearance this season and Principia is making its 20th all-time appearance in the tournament as the Panthers have gone 12-22 overall and have yet to win a tournament title. 

Here is a look at the 2018 SLIAC Volleyball Tournament schedule:

Saturday, Nov, 3 @Webster Groves, Mo. / Grant Gymnasium
Semifinal 1 – No.1 seed Webster (18-11, 16-2) vs. #4 seed Westminster (13-13, 11-7), 2 p.m.
Semifinal 2 – No. 2 Greenville (21-10, 16-2) vs. #3 Principia (18-4, 15-3), 4 p.m.
Championship – Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.