Volleyball Extends Win Streak To 5 With Sweep Over Blackburn

The Westminster women’s volleyball team swept Blackburn to extend their winning streak to 5 games. The Westminster Blue Jays are now 12-8 on the season and 10-1 in conference play.

The scores were 25-17, 25-13 and 25-19.

The Blue Jays pulled a 5-1 lead to start the first set of the day, but a kill and a block by Blackburn put the game at 5-3. After a 7-2 run by the Blue Jays, Blackburn called a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Blackburn hit a 3-1 run to put the game at 13-8. Two kills by sophomore Kayla Reeg and sophomore Gabby LaRose put the Blue Jays up 15-8. The lead was brought to 20-11 before a kill by Blackburn stopped the 5-1 run by Westminster. Blackburn scored 6 points in the final stretch, but the Blue Jays pulled out the25-17 set one win.

The Blue Jays started with a 10-3 run, including two aces by sophomore Riley Lawrence. Three attack errors by Westminster gave Blackburn the chance to cut the lead to just 10-6. A kill by Lawrence, followed by a block by sophomore Amanda Kiso jumpstarted the Blue Jays 8-1 run. The Blue Jays dominated the net with two blocks, followed by an ace by freshman Kristen McMillian. The Blue Jays won set point with an attack error by Blackburn, ending the set at 25-13.

With the eliminating set on the table for Blackburn, they fought to stay in the match. A back-and-forth beginning had the Blue Jays up 11-8 before Blackburn called a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Westminster served into the net, followed by a Blackburn ace to bring the set to 11-10, Westminster. The Blue Jays hit a 5-0 run to take the 20-14 lead. A kill by Kiso brought the game to match point with the Blue Jays leading 24-18. An attack error stopped the Blue Jays from ending it, but Kiso put down a kill from Reeg to end to set, 25-19.

Lawrence led the Blue Jays with 8 kills, and Kiso and Reeg both hit .500, and Reeg finished the match with 27 assists. Reeg, Lawrence and junior Caroline Will each had two service aces, and Will had 12 digs. Kiso had one solo block and four block assists.

The Blue Jays host Fontbonne University on Tuesday, October 14 at 7:00 p.m.