ELSAH, Ill. - Webster University returned to St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play here Saturday as the Gorloks picked up back-to-back three-set sweeps over both Principia College (25-19, 25-21, 25-17) and Iowa Wesleyan (25-14, 25-9, 25-19) at the Principia College Quadrangle held at Hay Fieldhouse.

With the two wins, Webster improves to 6-7 overall and 4-2 in the SLIAC and the Gorloks have also won four straight league matches since opening league play with back-to-back setbacks to Greenville and Westminster (Mo.) College.

In the two victories on Saturday, Webster's offense recorded a total of 74 kills and hit .198 as a team, including hitting .237 and recording 39 kills in the win over Iowa Wesleyan. 

Sophomore outside hitter Samantha Kruse (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo) led the way for Webster with a total of 18 kills, along wiht 28 kills and hit .300, while senior right side hitter Samantha Budrovich (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South) added 12 kills and 27 digs and junior outside hitter Sarah Jacobs (Carbondale, Ill./Murphysboro) had 10 kills and three blocks. 

While its offense was strong, so too, was Webster's defense as they both opponents to a combined .072 attack percentage. In addition, they had 155 digs, including 45 digs from sophomore libero Kristen Farrah (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell) and nine blocks. 

The Gorloks opened Saturday's quad at Principia (7-3, 6-2 SLIAC) with match against the Panthers, who WU has now defeated twice this season. WU outhit Principia, .165 to .098 and outdug the Panthers, 88-86.

WU's offense was balanced against Principia as three Gorloks finished with at least five kills as Jacobs led the way with a career-high tying eight kills and hit .316. Along with Jacobs, Kruse had six kills and 18 digs, while junior middle hitter Taylor Kissel (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South) added five kills in sweep.

Farrah paced WU's defense with 26 digs, while Budrovich had 17 digs and the Gorloks two setters, senior Kelsey Hamann (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo) and senior Jenna Rodriguez (Smithton, Ill./Freeburg) each had double-doubles as Hamann had 11 assists and 12 digs and Rodriguez chipped in with 13 assists and 11 digs. 

In the first set, WU jumped in front 10-5, before the Panthers used a 7-3 run to pull within 13-12. Back-to-back kills from Jacobs and Hamann would jump start a 9-2 run to give WU a 22-14 lead. The Panthers would answer with a 5-2 run to pull within 24-19, before Kruse slammed home a kill to seal WU's 25-19 win. In the set, WU outhit Principia, .196 to .111.

Webster jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the second set, before PC used a 5-2 run to tie the set at 7. WU, though, would answer with a 5-3 run to push out to a 12-10 lead. A 3-1 run by the Panthers tied the set at 13, before WU answered with a 5-1 run to take an 18-14 lead. The Webster lead would grow to 24-17 following an assisted block by Jacobs and freshman outside hitter Kylie Burke (Belleville, Ill./Belleville East). The Panthers would then score five straight points to pull within 24-21, before Budrovich delivered a kill to seal the 25-21 set win and give WU a 2-0 lead in the match. In the set, WU hit .140 and held PC to a .109 attack percentage. 

In the early going of the third set neither team was able to establish much of a lead until the Gorloks used a 7-3 run to turn a 3-all tie into a 10-6 lead. The lead would eventually grow to 14-8, before PC used 4-0 run to pull within 14-13. That would be as close as the Panthers would get as the Gorloks answered with a 7-2 run to increase its lead to 21-15. Two straight points by the Panthers dropped WU's lead to 21-17, the Gorloks would close out the set and the match by scoring the final four points to seal the 25-17 set win. In the set, WU hit .163 and held PC to an 0.68 attack percentage.

Sophia Hathaway led Principia with 14 kills and 14 digs, while Cha Cha Fisher and Noelle Shoemake each had seven kills in the loss. Mia Gill had a match-high 29 digs for the Panthers. 

Meanwhile, in the second set against Iowa Wesleyan, Webster hit .237 and held IWU to an .036 attack percentage. The Gorloks finished with 39 kills, 67 digs and six aces, while IWU had 22 kills, 61 digs and one ace. 

Kruse led the Gorloks with 12 kills and added 10 digs for her seventh double-double and hit .550, while Budrovich added eight kills, 10 digs and hit .292 in the win. Defensively, Farrah chipped in with 19 digs and Rodriguez added three aces, 16 assists and eight digs. 

The first set belonged to the Gorloks as they jumped out to an 8-0 lead and would eventually push its lead to 15-2 following a kill by Jacobs. IWU would score two straight points to pull within 15-4, the Gorloks would close the set by scoring 10 of the final 20 points to earn a 25-14 set win. In the set, WU hit .237 and held IWU to an .000 attack percentage.

Much like the first set, the second set was also all Webster as the Gorloks scored the first six points before IWU scored two straight points to drop IWU's lead to 6-2. Webster's lead would grow to as much as 21-7, before IWU stopped the run with a kill by Cass Schwamborn. The Gorloks would then close out the set by scoring four of the final five points to seal its 25-9 win and take a 2-0 lead in the match. In the set, WU hit .351 and held IWU to an .000 attack percentage.

Trailing 2-0 in the match, IWU would open the third set by taking an early 3-1 lead, before WU used a an 8-4 run to take a 9-7 lead in the set. The run was keyed by two Budrovich kills and capped by a kill from Jacobs. IWU, though, would respond by scoring three straight points to take a 10-9 lead. That lead was shortlived as the Gorloks used an 8-4 run to push out to a 17-14 lead. After the two teams took turns trading points, the Gorloks would close the set and the match by scoring six of the final nine points to seal its 25-19 set win and complete its three-game sweep. In the set, WU hit .128 and held PC to a .111 attack percentage.

IWU was paced by six kills from Allegra Collette, while Lida Landre added five kills in the loss. Jenna Murphy paced IWU's defense with 16 digs and Paige Kammerer chipped in with 11 digs. 

The Gorloks will return to action to coming Wednesday as they travel to Fulton, Mo., for a 7 p.m. SLIAC match against Westminster (Mo.) College. It will mark the second of two regular season meetings this season between the two squads the Blue Jays earned a four-set win at Greenville on Sept. 8.