BELLEVILLE, Ill. - Thursday's volleyball showdown in Greenville, Ill., between Webster University and Greenville University has been tabbed as this week's St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Game of the Week. Thursday's match between the two schools will begin at 7 p.m. at H.J. Long Gymnasium on the campus of Greenville University.Â
Thursday's match features the winningest volleyball programs in the SLIAC as the two teams have combined to win the last 13 SLIAC Tournament titles, including Greenville winning the last four SLIAC Tournament championships. Last season, Webster and Greenville shared the regular season SLIAC title as both teams went 16-2 in league play.Â
At a Glance
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Greenville University and Webster University will meet on the court in this week's SLIAC Game of the Week. The two schools are the winningest volleyball programs in the SLIAC and have combined to win the last 13 tournament titles. They will meet in Greenville, Illinois on Thursday, October 24 at 7 p.m. in H.J. Long Gymnasium.
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Greenville University 'PANTHERS'
Greenville sits in first place in the SLIAC standings with an 11-1 conference record. They carry a six-match winning streak into the week and will face Principia on Tuesday night in a road SLIAC game before the Game of the Week on Thursday. Greenville is the most complete team in the league; ranking 1st in kills per set, hitting percentage, assists per set, aces, and total blocks.
The Panthers' well-rounded game is exemplified by middle blocker Anna Finch who is averaging 2.74 kills per set while hitting .427 and totaling 63 blocks, 57 digs, and 18 aces. Jasmin Smith (181 kills) gives the Panthers another option on the attack and is second on the team with 257 digs. Kaitlin Murray is averaging 6.38 assists per set and leads the team with 26 aces. Â
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Webster University 'GORLOKS'
Webster, who is sporting a 12-9 overall record, has won five straight matches (all of which have come in straight sets)Â and is currently in 3rd place in the SLIAC standings with a 9-3 record. They will have a full week of rest when they take the court for this week's match on Thursday. The Gorloks are one of the top defensive teams in the SLIAC, ranking 1st in digs per set and 2nd in blocks per set.Â
Leading the defense for the Gorloks is junior libero Kristen Farrah (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell) as she has recorded 506 digs and leads Division III in digs per set at 6.75 digs per set. The Gorloks are also able to throw up a deep roster for their net defense with four players totaling over 20 blocks with junior middle hitter Jordan Price (Fulton, Ill./Carl Sandburg College) leading the way with a conference-best 70 blocks.
On offense, freshman outside hitter Lauren Borik (Belleville, Ill./Althoff) leads the team with 223 kills with Price, junior outside hitter Samantha Kruse (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo) and senior right side hitter Sarah Jacobs (Carbondale, Ill./Murphysboro) all totaling over 100 kills this season.Â
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Series History
Webster leads the all-time series against Greenville 38-21 with the Panthers winning two straight matches after taking this season's earlier meeting 3-1.
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