GREENVILLE, Ill. - Webster University and Greenville played one of the best volleyball matches this season in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference here Thursday evening in the SLIAC Game of the Week as the Panthers outlasted the Gorloks (22-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-21, 17-19) to post a five-set victory at H.J. Long Gymnasium on the Greenville campus. 

With the loss, Webster had its five match winning streak snapped and its record fell to 12-10 overall and 9-4 in the SLIAC, while Greenville improved to 18-7 overall and 13-1 in the league. 

In Thursday's match, the Gorloks lost the first two sets and then rallied to earn back-to-back 25-21 wins in the third and fourth sets to force a fifth and deciding set against the two teams that have combined to win the last 13 SLIAC Tournament titles, including Greenville winning four straight SLIAC Tournament championships. 

In the fifth set, Greenville jumped out to a 12-6 lead, before the Gorloks used a 9-2 run to take a 15-14 lead. The Gorloks run was aided by a combined five kills from junior middle hitter Jordan Price (Fulton, Ill./Carl Sandburg College) and senior right side hitter Sarah Jacobs (Carbondale, Ill./Murphysboro). Looking to seal the come-from-behind win, freshman outside hitter Lauren Borik (Belleville, Ill./Althoff) recorded an attack error to tie the set at 15. The two teams would then trade points until the Gorloks committed back-to-back errors with the set tied at 17 to help the Panthers seal its 19-17 fifth set win. 

Against the Panthers, Jacobs recorded a career high 20 kills, including six in the fifth set and added five digs, four block assists and hit .277. In addition to Jacobs, junior outside hitter Samantha Kruse (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo) added her sixth double-double of the season as she had 15 kills and 19 digs, while Price chipped in with 13 kills and nine blocks, including a season high four solo blocks and Borik had 12 kills to extend her double-digit kill streak to 12 matches. 

For the match, Webster recorded season highs in kills (71), attack attempts (225), assists (63), digs (114) and recorded 12 blocks, which is second most in a match this season. Webster ended the match hitting .164, while Greenville hit .176. 

Leading the way defensively for the Gorloks was junior libero Kristen Farrah (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell), who recorded 37 digs to push her career total to 1,824 digs and becomes just the second Gorlok to record 1,800 career digs. With her 37 digs, she moves within 105 digs of the school's career mark of 1,929 digs held by Katie O'Toole from 2013-16. 

In addition to Farrah, Kruse added 19 digs, while senior setter Jenna Rodriguez (Smithton, Ill./Freeburg) had 15 digs and a career high 38 assists for her 11th double-double and junior setter Emma Larson (Bellevue, Neb./Bellevue West) had 12 digs and 15 assists for her fifth double-double of the season. The other player with double-digit digs on Thursday was sophomore defensive specialst Kyra Gensel (Clarkton, N.C./Harrell Christian) had 10 digs. 

Webster jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set and led 7-4 when Greenville responded with a 15-11 run to take a 19-18 lead. The Gorloks, though, used a kill from Kruse to tie the set at 19, before Greenville closed the set on a 6-3 run to earn a 25-22 lead. In the set, GU hit .196 and had 14 kills, while WU hit .104 with 15 kills. 

In the second set, Greenville jumped in front 7-4 and led 10-6 when the Gorloks used a 4-3 run to pull within 13-10. The Panthers would respond with a 6-2 run to take a 19-12 lead. The Gorloks would score three straight points, including capping the run with two straight kills to pull WU within 19-15. GU would close out the set by scoring six of the final 10 points to seal it 25-19 win and take a 2-0 lead in the match. In the set, GU hit .226 and had 17 kills, while WU hit .180 with 11 kills. 

The third set was dominated by the Gorloks as they never trailed in the set. In the set, WU jumped in front 4-1 and led 9-6 when the Panthers used an 11-9 run to pull within 18-17. Webster would respond with a 6-2 run to push out to a 24-19 lead. After GU scored two straight points to pull within 24-21, Jacobs would seal WU's 25-21 set win with a kill. In the set, WU hit .190 and had 14 kills, while GU hit .130 and recorded 12 kills. 

Webster would once again jump out to a 4-1 lead in the fourth set, before GU used a 7-4 run to tie the set at 8-all. Three kills by Kruse helped jump start a 10-3 run for the Gorloks to give Webster an 18-11 lead. GU, though, would respond with a 7-3 run to pull within 21-18. The Gorloks would score four of the final seven points of the set to earn a 25-21 win to force a fifth and deciding set. In the set, WU hit .239 and had 19 kills, while GU hit .136 with 11 kills. 

Greenville, who had 63 kills in the win, was paced offensively by 21 kills and a .436 hitting percentage from Anna Finch. In addition to Finch, Jasmin Smith has 14 kills and added 30 digs, while Emily Stahl chipped in with 12 kills and seven blocks. The Panthers outlbocked the Gorloks, 13-12 in the match.

Defensively, Greenville had 96 digs as along with 30 digs by Smith, Chasity Hill added 20 digs, whole Kaitlin Murray had 16 digs and 25 assists. Jordan Lempa added 10 digs and 30 assists. 

Greenville had five aces, while the Gorloks had three aces, including two from Rodriguez. 

The Gorloks will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 26as they travel to Fulton, Mo., to compete in a quadrangle hosted by Westminster (Mo.) College. At the Westminster Quad, Webster will face Fontbonne University at 12 p.m. and then face Principia at 2 p.m. The Gorloks picked up a three set non-conference win over Fontbonne on Aug. 30 and earned a three set win over Principia at home on Oct. 15.