ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Webster University volleyball team was back in action today when they played host to the Mississippi University for Women Owls and the Principia (Ill.) College Panthers for a SLIAC tri-match. The Gorloks swept the tri-match as they defeated the Owls in three sets (25-23, 25-20, 25-13) and the Panthers in three sets (25-11, 25-12, 25-7) to improve to 15-12 on the season and 13-3 in the SLIAC.

Prior to the start of the first match, the volleyball team honored their three seniors on the team. Lauren Borik, Emma Matteson, and Delaney Demman were all honored.

In their first matchup against MUW, the Gorloks recorded 44 kills on 157 attacks for a .197 attacking percentage. They added three service aces, three blocks, 43 assists, and 102 total digs. The Owls recorded 35 kills on 162 attacks for a .105 attacking percentage.

The Gorloks came out in the first set against the Owls and found themselves trailing 9-3 early in the game. Webster battled back and tied the score at 12, and then went on an 8-4 run to take a 20-16 lead late in the frame. The Owls would cut the lead to one, but the Gorloks picked up the final point of the set to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Webster carried over their momentum into the second set as they jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead. The Owls battled back and tied the score at seven, but a 13-8 run from the Gorloks put them up 20-15 late in the set. Webster would close them out down the stretch and take a 2-0 match advantage.

In the final set of the match, Webster held a 12-8 lead early. They continued to play well as the set progressed and push their lead to 19-10 late in the set. They picked up the final points of the game and solidified the three-set sweep.

Megan Zablonski and Grace White led the team offensively as Zablonksi recorded a team high 11 kills while White finished with 10. Ellie Biedenstein and Delaney Demman ran the offense for Webster as Biedenstein recorded a match high 20 assists while Demman added 17. Lauren Borik, Emma Matteson, Cassie Gray, and Ellie Biedenstein led the way defensively as Borik recorded a career high 35 digs, Matteson recorded a career high 16 digs, Gray finished with 13 digs, and Biedensten finished with 10 digs.

In their second match, Webster finished with 34 kills on 73 attacks for a .329 attacking percentage. They added 11 service aces, five total blocks, 29 assists, and 38 digs. The Panthers ended with 12 kills on 75 attacks for a -.133 attacking percentage.

Webster came out in the first set against the Panthers and jumped out to a 14-7 lead. They played well as the set progressed and push their lead to 20-10 late in the game. They outscored the Panthers 5-1 down the stretch to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

They carried over their momentum into the second set and held an 18-9 lead midway through the game. Webster never let Principia back in the game and cruised to a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the final set, both teams came out and exchanged points early. With the score tied at five, Webster went on a 15-1 run to take a 20-6 lead in the frame. They held off the Panthers down the stretch and solidified their second sweep of the day.

Delaney Demman led the way for Webster as she finished with a match high 15 assists. In addition, Grace White recorded a match high six kills and Megan Zablonski recorded a match high nine digs.

The Gorloks will return to the court on Wednesday, November 1^st when they travel to Bloomington, Illinois, to take on the Illinois Wesleyan University Trojans for a nonconference matchup. The game will start at 7 p.m.