ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Webster University volleyball team was back in action today when they played host to the Greenville (Ill.) University Panthers and the Blackburn (Ill.) College Beavers for a SLIAC tri-match. The Gorloks split the doubleheader as they fell to Greenville in three sets (22-25, 17-25, 20-25) and then defeated Blackburn in three sets (25-17, 25-18, 25-22) to move to 3-6 on the season.

In their first match against Greenville, the Gorloks finished with 27 kills on 100 attacks for a .130 attacking percentage. They added 10 blocks, 26 assists, and 46 digs. The Panthers finished with 44 kills on 120 attacks for a .167 attacking percentage.  

The Gorloks came out in their first set against the Panthers and matched them point-for-point to start the game. With the score tied at six, Greenville went on a 6-3 run and held a 12-9 advantage midway through the frame. Webster would answer with an 8-2 run of their own to take a 17-14 advantage, but the Panthers were able to score four of the next five points to tie the score at 18. The set remained close down the final stretch, but the Panthers would end the game on a 3-0 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

After dropping the second set by a final score of 25-17, Webster came out in the third game and jumped out to an early 5-1 lead. The Panthers battled back and tied the score at nine, but a 7-3 run from the Gorloks put them up 16-12 midway through the set. Greenville would tie the score at 20 late in the game and then went on a 5-0 run to end the frame to solidify the sweep.

Megan Zablonski and Tyler Ramstack led the attack for Webster as Zablonksi had a team high nine kills while Ramstack had eight. Delaney Demman ran the offense for Webster as she recorded a team high 12 assists. Cassie Gray led the team defensively as she recorded a team high nine digs.

In their second match against Blackburn, Webster recorded 37 kills on 124 attacks for a .177 attacking percentage. They added eight service aces, 31 assists, five blocks, and 62 digs. The Beavers finished the match with 36 kills on 124 attacks for a .113 attacking percentage.

The Gorloks came out in the first set and jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead. They continued to play well as the set progressed and held a 16-14 lead midway through the game. The Beavers would cut the lead to two, but Webster would end the game on a 9-3 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Webster carried over their momentum into the second set and went on a 13-4 run to start the game. The Beavers would battle back and cut the lead to six late in the set, but the Gorloks would pick up the final points of the game to take a 2-0 match advantage.

In the third set of the match, Blackburn jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead. The Gorloks bounced back and tied the score at nine, and then went on a 6-3 run to take a 15-12 advantage. The Beavers would claw their way back into the game and tie the score at 22, but the Gorloks picked up the final points of the set to solidify the sweep.

Madison Katz led the attack for Webster as she recorded a team high eight kills in the game. Megan Zablonski had a great game as she recorded a match high four service aces to go with 10 digs. Cloey Asplin and Delaney Demman ran the offense as Asplin finished with a team high 12 assists while Demman added 10. Demman also recorded a team high 13 digs to go along with 10 from Emma Matteson.

The Gorloks will return to the court on Tuesday, September 19^th when they travel to Terre Haute, Indiana, to take on the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Ind.) Fightin' Engineers for a nonconference matchup. The game is set to start at 7 p.m. EDT.