ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Webster University volleyball team was back on the court this evening when they traveled across town to Fontbonne (Mo.) University to take on the Griffins in the quarterfinals of the SLIAC Volleyball Tournament. The Gorloks, who earned the fifth seed in the SLIAC Tournament, were able to defeat the fourth seeded Griffins in three straight sets (25-19, 25-16, 25-11) to advance to the semifinals of the SLIAC Volleyball Tournament. With the loss, the Griffins season ends with a 10-16 record on the year.
The Gorloks attack was working for them all night as they finished the match with 50 kills and .303 attacking percentage. The held the Griffins to just 22 kills in the game and .066 attacking percentage. Webster finished with five service aces, six blocks, 48 assists and 63 digs over three sets.
Webster came out in the first set and took it to the Griffins early. They went on a 5-2 run to start the set and held a 14-10 advantage midway through the game. Fontbonne bounced back and tied the score at 14, but a 7-1 run from Webster gave them a 21-15 lead late in the game. Webster was able to pick up the final few points of the set to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Gorloks carried over their momentum into the second set and jumped out to 10-7 lead. They continued to play well as the set progressed and held a 21-16 lead late in the game. The finished the set on a 4-0 run and took a 2-0 lead in the match.
Webster found themselves trailing early in the third set. However, they were able to tie the score at five before going on a 20-6 run to end the game and complete the three-game sweep.
Lauren Borik led the way for Webster as she finished with a match high 18 kills and a match high 22 digs.
Mary Nelson also played well as she finished with a match high 21 assists to go along with 10 digs. In addition,
Julia Frey finished with seven kills,
Emma Leppien finished with 16 assists, and
Tori Cichelero added 12 digs to round out the top performers for the Gorloks.
With the win tonight, Webster advances to the SLIAC Volleyball Tournament Semifinals. They will take on the top seeded Greenville (Ill.) University Panthers at 11 a.m. in Greenville, Illinois, at 11 a.m. If they win that match, they will advance to the SLIAC Tournament Finals at 6 p.m. at Greenville (Ill.) University.
