Volleyball Extends Win Streak To 6 Games

The Westminster women’s volleyball team left the Fontbonne Quad on Saturday, September 20, with two more conference wins under their belt. The Westminster Blue Jays swept Iowa Wesleyan 3-0, and then brought home a 3-2 win over Fontbonne. The two wins extend their win streak to six games and brings their conference record to a perfect 4-0.

The Blue Jays faced Iowa Wesleyan for their first match of the day.  They had a slow start in the first set, but with Kayla Reeg serving, the Blue Jays went on a six point run to take a 15-6 lead. With a 21-11 Blue Jay lead, Iowa Wesleyan called a timeout. The Blue Jays came out of the timeout and freshman Hannah Marshall put down a kill to take the 22-11 lead. Sophomore Riley Lawrence ended the set with a kill, taking a 1-0 lead over Iowa Wesleyan (25-13).

The Blue Jays jumped out to a 5-1 lead in set two before the Tigers of Iowa Wesleyan put themselves back in the set, 6-4. A kill by junior Lexi Collier brought the serve to sophomore Gabby LaRose, where she served the next seven serves. The Blue Jays led 14-5, but the Tigers brought the game to 18-12 with multiple Blue Jay attack errors. The Blue Jays went on a 7-3 run to take the 25-15 set two win.

The Tigers knew it was do-or-die in set three, so the game was neck-and-neck throughout. The Blue Jays hopped out to a 5-2 lead, but the Tigers brought it to a one point game, 8-7. The Tigers took the 11-10 lead and brought it to 17-12 before Westminster called a timeout. The Blue Jays came out of the timeout and went on a five-point rally. A kill by LaRose and one by Collier gave the Blue Jays a 19-18 lead, but the Tigers quickly took it back. The game was at 24-23 Blue Jays with the Tigers serve. A kill by Collier ended the set (25-23), giving the Blue Jays a 3-0 sweep over the Tigers.

Lawrence went 13-1-37 on the match, hitting .324. Sophomore Amanda Kiso hit .528 with 8 kills. Reeg had 36 assists, and junior Caroline Will had 13 digs. Seven blocks came out of the Blue Jays, including three coming from Collier.

The Blue Jays took an hour break before facing off host Fontbonne University.

Set one with Fontbonne was a back-and-forth game. With the score tied 20-20, Lawrence went for the kill and took a 21-20 lead. An attack error by Fontbonne and two more kills from Lawrence put the Blue Jays up 24-20, but Fontbonne put down a kill to halt the end of the game. The Blue Jays fought back and a kill by LaRose ended the set with a 25-21 win.

Set two started out neck-and-neck, but the Griffins of Fontbonne went on a five-point streak, followed by a four-point streak to take the 16-9 lead. The Blue Jays were down 23-14 with only two points to go, but they rallied back to score five before the Griffins ended the set, 25-19.

The Griffins held the lead for most of set three, but a block by Kiso and LaRose tied the game at 21-21. Three kills by the Griffins gave them the 25-23 win and a 2-1 lead on the match.

Westminster came out for blood in the fourth set. The Griffins held the lead, but an ace by freshman Kendall Johnson tied the set at 4-4. The Blue Jays jumped to a 9-4 lead. The Griffins brought the game within four points (14-10), but two kills by Lawrence put the Blue Jays up by seven (17-10). A Kiso block gave the Blue Jays the 23-15 advantage. The Griffins cut their deficit to 24-18, but a kill by Kiso ended the set, 25-18.

With the match tied 2-2, the Blue Jays and the Griffins headed into a fifth set. The Blue Jays took a 4-1 lead before the Griffins tied it up at 5-5. After two kills by Collier and a kill by Lawrence put the Blue Jays up 10-6, the Griffins called a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Griffins cut the lead to 10-9. A block by Kiso and Reeg put the Blue Jay’s lead to 13-9, but Kiso’s attack error put the ball in the Griffin’s hands. With a 14-12 Blue Jay lead and the ball in the Griffin’s hands, the Blue Jays called a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Griffins served the ball out of bounds to end the set, 15-12.

The Blue Jays hit .219 on the match, with Collier’s .522 hitting percentage (14-2-23) leading the way. Lawrence had 19 kills, and Reeg had 46 assists and four block assists. LaRose led the Blue Jays with 16 digs, and added four block assists. Collier had seven block assists.

The Blue Jays travel to Washington University-St. Louis on Wednesday, September 24. Game starts at 7:00 p.m.