Thursday’s Volleyball Game at Greenville Named SLIAC Game of the Week

This week’s St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Game of the Week is a volleyball match between Westminster College and Greenville College. The SLIAC Game of the Week highlights one key conference match-up each week.

At A Glance
The volleyball match on Thursday night between Westminster College and Greenville College is this week’s featured SLIAC Game of the Week. This week’s match is between the top two teams in the SLIAC standings, Westminster and Greenville. Both teams have already eclipsed the 10 win mark in conference play and are separated by just one game in the standings. Greenville defeated Westminster earlier this season 3-1.

About Westminster
Westminster begins the week with a 12-8 overall record and are 10-1 in the SLIAC. They have the conference’s longest active winning streak with five matches. Their last loss was on September 27th when they fell to Greenville 3-1. Since that time the Blue Jays have defeated MacMurray, Spalding, Blackburn, and Eureka twice. They will face Fontbonne on Tuesday night before their showdown re-match against Greenville.

Westminster is averaging 11.24 kills per set and are hitting .180 as a team this season. They rank in the middle of the pack in numerous categories including hitting percentage, service aces, and total blocks. Blue Jay setter Kayla Reeg leads the SLIAC with 9.27 assists per set while setting up four teammates with over 100 kills on the year. Riley Lawrence leads the attack, averaging 2.99 kills per set while Lexi Collier is hitting a conference best .370 and averages 2.15 kills per set. Amanda Kiso averages 2.06 kills per set while proving to be a defensive force at the net, ranking third in the conference in blocks. Hannah Marshall is the final member of the 100 kill quartet and averages 2.03 kills per set.

About Greenville
Greenville puts their undefeated conference record on the line once again this week with three SLIAC matches. They will face Eureka on Tuesday night before squaring off against Westminster and will close out the week against Fontbonne. Greenville has won two straight matches, Iowa Wesleyan and Benedictine-Springfield. Greenville is currently 17-6 overall and 11-0 in the SLIAC.

The Panthers are hitting .228 as a team this season, averaging 12.12 kills per set. They have recorded 143 service aces this season, second most in the conference, and are fifth in blocks at 1.72 per set. The Panthers balanced attack is shared by the trio of Nicole Schaeffer, Allyson Mitchell, and Savannah Sells. Schaeffer leads the team, and is fifth in the conference, with 3.13 kills per set. Mitchell averages 3.09 kills per set and is hitting .264 while Sells leads the team with a .316 hitting percentage and averages 2.61 kills per set. Ellen Lueking runs the offense and averages 8.78 assists per set while libero Jamie Schollenbruch leads the conference with 6.38 digs per set.

Game Notes

• Greenville leads the all-time series 21-13. Westminster won the first 13 meetings between the teams while Greenville is on a 21 match winning streak in the series.
• The Panthers are 7-2 at home this season while Westminster is 5-1 on the road.
• With just three weeks remaining in the regular season Greenville once again has their eyes on an undefeated conference mark. The Panthers have suffered just one regular season SLIAC loss in each of the last two years and in three of the last four years.
• This match-up features five Player of the Week winners from this season. Westminster’s Kayla Reeg, Caroline Will, and Lexi Collier and Greenville’s Jamie Schollenbruch and Savannah Sells.
• Greenville’s Allyson Mitchell leads the conference in service aces with 52.