CARLINVILLE, Ill. – The Webster University volleyball team was back in action this afternoon when they traveled to Carlinville, Illinois, to take on the Spalding (Ky.) University Golden Eagles and the Blackburn (Ill.) College Beavers for a SLIAC tri-match. The Gorloks split the matches as they defeated Spalding in four sets (16-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-19) and then fell to Blackburn in three sets (19-25, 22-25, 22-25) to move to 13-11 on the season and 11-3 in the SLIAC.

In their first match of the day, Webster finished with 42 kills on 148 attacks for a .155 attacking percentage. They added seven service aces, eight blocks, 32 assists, and 67 digs.

After dropping the first set, Webster came out in the second set and jumped out to an 8-4 lead. The Golden Eagles battled back and tied the score at 12, and then went on a 9-7 run to take a 21-19 lead late in the frame. Webster would outscore Spalding 7-3 down the final stretch and tie the match at one.

In the third set, Webster found themselves trailing 13-8 early in the game. The Golden Eagles continued to play well as the set progressed and held an 18-13 lead late in the frame. The Gorloks answered with an 8-3 run of their own to tie the score at 21, and then outscored Spalding 4-2 down the stretch to take a 2-1 match advantage.

Webster once again found themselves trailing 13-8 to start the fourth set. The Golden Eagles would extend their lead to 18-10, but a 15-1 run from the Gorloks to end the set solidified the match.

Grace White led the way for Webster as she recorded a team high 10 kills to go along with a match high five blocks. Ellie Biedenstein and Delaney Demman ran the offense for Webster as they finished with 14 and 11 digs, respectively. In addition, Lauren Borik recorded a team high 17 digs, Megan Zablonski added 10 digs, and Madison Katz finished with nine digs to lead the Gorloks.

The Gorloks recorded 30 kills 120 attacks for a .108 attacking percentage against Blackburn. They added one service aces, 25 assists, 58 digs, and six total blocks. The Beavers finished with 40 kills on 133 attacks for a .165 attacking percentage.

Webster came out in the first set and matched the Beavers point-for-point. With the score tied at seven, Blackburn went on a 9-4 run to take a 16-11 lead in the frame. Webster would cut the lead to one, but a 7-2 run from the Beavers to end the set put them up 1-0 in the match.

After dropping the second set 25-22, the Gorloks came out in the third set and found themselves trailing 13-4 early. They answered with a 7-2 run to cut the score to four, but another run from the Beavers would put them up 21-14 late in the game. Webster would once again battle back and cut the lead to one, but the Beavers would score the final two points of the set to solidify the sweep.

Alyssa Jones led the attack for Webster as she recorded a team high nine kills. Ellie Biedenstein led the team in assists as she recorded 10. Lauren Borik and Delaney Demman led the team defensively as Borik finished with a match high 17 digs while Demman added 10.

The Gorloks will return to the court on Thursday, October 26^th when they travel down Big Bend Road to take on the 12^th ranked Washington (Mo.) University Bears for a nonconference matchup.