WEBSTER GROVES - The 22nd-ranked Webster volleyball team hit .221 as a team, recorded eight aces and a season-high 11 blocks en route to handing 10th-ranked Westminster its first loss of the season in a four-set victory (26-24, 25-12, 12-25, 25-18) Sunday afternoon over the Blue Jays in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action at Grant Gymnasium.

Sunday's match was the first-ever volleyball match in the 30 year history of league that involved two nationally-ranked opponents as Webster and Westminster are two of the three schools nationally ranked in this week's latest AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll. Greenville is ranked 15th. 

With Sunday's win, Webster improved to 6-2 overall and 6-2 in the SLIAC, while Westminster was knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten as they fell to 8-1 overall and 8-1 in the league. Despite the win, Webster is still sitting second in the league standings behind both Westminster and Greenville, who are 8-1 in league play.

Against Westminster, who is now 4-1 on the season in four set matches, the Gorloks recorded season highs in kills (52), assists (50), digs (75) and blocks (11) in picking up just its second four set win of the 2020-21 season.

Webster's offense was paced by a double-double of 12 kills and a career-high 23 digs and she hit .333, while freshman right side hitter Alexis Wolf (Quincy, Ill./Quincy) and junior outside/right side hitter Peyton Eikel (Dardenne Prairie, Mo./Liberty) each tallying 11 kills and Wolf hit a season-best .357 as she had one error on 28 attack attempts. Junior middle hitter Kylie Burke (Belleville, Ill./Belleville West) added seven kills, two aces and a career-high eight blocks, while also hitting .429 with just one error on 14 attacks. 

Junior setter/right side hitter Ali Spohr (Quincy, Ill./Quincy) recorded eight kills, two block assist and her team-leading sixth double-double with a career-high 23 assists and 12 digs. 

Three Gorloks recorded two aces in the match as along with Burke, Borik and Spohr each had two aces in the win. 

Along with Burke's eight career blocks, sophomore middle hitter Julia Frey (Teutopolis, Ill./Teutopolis) had three blocks, while Wolf added four blocks. 

Four Gorloks recorded double-digit digs in the match as along with 23 digs by Borik and the 12 digs from Spohr, junior libero Kyra Gensel (Clarkton, N.C./Harrells Christian) had 17 and sophomore defensive specialist Tori Cichelero (St. Louis, Mo./Ursuline) picked up 12. 

Westminster was held to a season-low .135 attack percentage as she had 45 kills and recorded seven blocks and 75 digs. 

Haley Menke and Eryka Wanyonyi each had 13 kills in the loss, while Erica Schrader recorded 20 digs and Wanyonyi posted 18 digs for a double-double. 

Natalie Needy, who entered the match hitting a team-best .342 on the season, was held to an .040 attack percentage as she tallied six kills and had five errors on 25 total attacks. 

The Gorloks will return to action on Wednesday, March 10 with a 7 p.m. match in Greenville, Ill., against 15th-ranked Greenville. The Panthers collected a three-set win over the Gorloks in Grant Gymnasium on Feb. 20. 

Set 1: The Gorloks jumped in front 5-0 in the opening set and led 14-7 when the 'Jays used a 10-5 run to pull within 19-17. The Gorloks, though, would respond by scoring four of the next six points to push its lead to 23-19, including capping the run with three straight Westminster attack errors. Westminster, who are the defending SLIAC Tournament Champions from the 2019 season, once again showed their comeback ability as they scored five of the next six points to tie the set at 24-all. Webster would use an attack error by Payton Bledsoe and a kill by Eikel to seal its 26-24 set win. In the set, Webster hit .132 with 14 kills, while Westminster had 13 kills and hit .054. 

Set 2: Neither team could gain much traction in the early going of the second set as the teams were tied five times at 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5 and following the tie at 5-all, the Gorloks used a 7-1 run to push out to a 12-6 lead. The run was keyed by three blocks from the Gorloks, including capped by an assisted block from Burle and Wolf. The 'Jays would then score three of the next six points to cut WU's lead to 15-9, before Webster used a 7-2 run to push in front 23-11. The run was capped by back-to-back kills from Eikel and an ace from Gensel. After a service error by Gensel stopped WU's scoring run, a kill from Eikel and a solo block by Burke capped Webster's 25-12 win to give the Gorloks a 2-0 lead in the match. In the set, Webster hit .333 with 14 kills and had four blocks, while Westminster was held to an .000 attack percentage. 

Set 3: The third set belonged to Westminster as they hit .478 with 12 kills, including six by Menke, and three blocks, while holding Webster to an .071 attack percentage. Westminster scored the first two points of the set and after the Gorloks would tie the set at 2-all and again at 3-all, the Blue Jays would use 17-6 run to push in front 20-9. After kills from Wolf and sophomore outside/middle hitter Jordan Mueller (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) and a block by Frey brought Webster within 21-12. The Blue Jays would respond by scoring the final four points to seal its 25-12 set win. 

Set 4: The fourth set was another competitive affair as it featured 10 ties and two lead changes. In the set, neither team would lead by more than two points early in the set until the Gorloks used a 5-2 run capped by an ace from Burke to take an 11-9 lead. The Blue Jays responded with a 5-3 run to tie the set at 14-all. The two teams would then trade points for a tie at 15, before Webster used a 5-1 run to push in front 20-16. The run was capped by back-to-back kills from Eikel and Wolf. After an attack error by Borik dropped her team's lead to 20-17, the Gorloks would score five of the final six points, including sealing the 25-19 set win with back-to-back Borik kills. In the set, Webster hit .351 with 17 kills, while Westminster had 12 kills and hit .171.