ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Webster University women's volleyball team took the court for the first time this season when they traveled down Big Bend Road to compete in the Washington University Invitational at Washington (Mo.) University. The Gorloks played two matches on the day as they lost the first match to North Central (Ill.) College in four sets (19-25, 12-25, 25-20, 15-25) and the second match to Hendrix (Ark.) College in three sets (23-25, 20-25, 18-25) to fall to 0-2 on the season.

Webster finished the first match against North Central with 35 kills on 144 attacks for a .083 attacking percentage. They added four service aces, five blocks, 30 assists, and 70 digs. The Cardinals finished with 52 kills on 156 attacks for a .218 attacking percentage.

The Gorloks came out in the first match of the day and dropped the first two sets to find themselves trailing early. They bounced back in the third and were able to match the Cardinals point-for-point to start the set. With the score tied at eight, Webster went on a 9-5 run and held a 17-13 lead midway through the game. The Cardinals cut the lead down to one, but an 8-3 run to end the game gave the Gorloks a 25-20 third set win.

Webster carried over their momentum into the fourth set and were once again able to match the Cardinals point-for-point. With the score tied at eight, North Central went on a 6-2 run to take a 14-10 lead. They pushed their lead to as many as 10 and never let the Gorloks back in the game as they closed them out down the stretch to solidify the win.

Megan Zablonski led the way for the Gorloks as she recorded a team high 10 kills and added 13 digs. Ellie Biedenstein and Delaney Demman ran the offense as Biedenstein finished with a team high 16 assists while Demman added 11. Cassie Gray led the team defensively as she finished with a match high 18 digs.

Webster finished the second match against the Warriors with 26 kills on 110 attacks for a .027 attacking percentage. They added two service aces, two blocks, 22 assists, and 60 digs. The Warriors finished with 35 kills on 121 attacks for a .124 attacking percentage.

In the first set, the Gorloks found themselves trailing 9-6 early. The Warriors continued to play well as the set progressed and pushed their lead to 21-13 late in the game. Webster battled back and went on a 10-4 run to cut the lead to one late in the set. However, the Warriors picked up the final point of the game and took a 1-0 lead in the match.

After dropping the second set by a final score of 25-18, the Gorloks came out in the third set and found themselves trailing 11-4. Webster would cut the lead to four but that was as close as they would get as Hendrix closed them out down the stretch to solidify the win.

Cassie Gray led the way for Webster as she finished with a match high 13 digs. Alyssa Jones also had a nice game as she led the team with seven kills. In addition, Ellie Biedenstein led the team with 12 assists while Delaney Demman added nine.

The Gorloks will wrap up play in the Washington University Invitational tomorrow, September 2^nd when they take on St. Olaf (Minn.) College. First serve is set for 10:30 a.m. on the campus of Washington (Mo.) University.