FULTON, Mo. – The Webster University volleyball team was back in action yesterday when they traveled to Fulton, Missouri, to take on the Westminster (Mo.) College Blue Jays and the Greenville (Ill.) University Panthers for their final SLIAC tri-match of the regular season. The Gorloks dropped both matches as they were defeated by Westminster in five sets (20-25, 26-24, 25-20, 17-25, 13-15) and then fell to Greenville in four sets (15-25, 18-25, 25-19, 15-25) to end their regular season with a 15-15 overall record and a 13-5 mark in conference play.

In their first match against the Blue Jays, Webster recorded 62 kills on 185 attacks for a .178 attacking percentage. They added six service aces, 10 blocks, 54 assists, and 73 digs. Westminster recorded 53 kills on 167 attacks for a .192 attacking percentage.

After dropping the first set, Webster came out in the second set and found themselves trailing 12-5 early in the game. They battled back and cut the lead to two, but another run from the Blue Jays extended their lead to 22-17 late in the frame. The Gorloks would answer with a 5-0 run to tie the score at 22, and then would outscore the Blue Jays 4-2 down the stretch to tie the match at one.

Webster carried over their momentum into the third set and held an 11-7 advantage early. The Blue Jays would tie the score at 13 midway through the set, but a 7-3 run from Webster would give them a 20-16 lead late in the game. Westminster would cut the lead back down to two, but the Gorloks would pick up the final points in the set to take a 2-1 match advantage.

Westminster bounced back in the fourth set and tied the match at two after a 25-17 victory. Webster picked it up to start the fifth set and held a 7-4 lead early. The Gorloks led for most of the set but the Blue Jays would tie the score at 12 before outscoring the Blue Jays 3-1 down the stretch to solidify the match.

Alyssa Jones led the attack for Webster as she recorded a career high 15 kills. Tyler Ramstack and Madison Katz also played well as Ramstack finished with 11 kills while Katz had 10. Ellie Biedenstein and Delaney Demman ran the offense for Webster as Biedenstein recorded a match high 28 assists while Demman recorded 19. Lauren Borik led the way defensively with 27 digs.

In their second match against the Panthers, Webster recorded 41 kills on 149 attacks for a .114 attacking percentage. They added four service aces, four blocks, 33 assists, and 71 digs. Greenville recorded 49 kills on 154 attacks for a .195 attacking percentage.

After dropping the first two sets, Webster bounced back in the third and were able to jump out to a 9-4 lead. The Panthers answered with a 5-1 run to cut the lead to one, but a 10-2 run from the Gorloks put them up 20-11 late in the game. Webster would score the final points of the set and cut the Greenville lead to 2-1 in the match.

In the fourth set, Webster found themselves trailing 14-9 midway through the game. The Gorloks would cut the lead to three but that is as close as they would get as the Panthers closed them out down the stretch to solidify the win.

Alyssa Jones once again led the attack in this one as she recorded a team high 10 kills. Ellie Biedenstein and Delaney Demman ran the offense as they recorded 16 and 12 assists, respectively. Lauren Borik recorded a team high 20 digs.

This marks the end of the regular season for the volleyball team. The Gorloks have earned the fourth seed in the SLIAC Tournament and will host the fifth seeded Spalding (Ky.) University Golden Eagles on Wednesday, November 8^th in Grant Gymnasium. The time has not yet been announced.