Griffins knocked off in nail-biter at Westminster

Fulton, Mo. - It was a daunting task, but Fontbonne women's volleyball almost defeated Westminster College last night. Both teams faced each other once already with Westminster edging Fontbonne once again in a five set matchup. Westminster has now won eight games in a row and are 6-0 in conference play. The Griffins drop to 3-6 on the season.

Fontbonne didn't go down quietly. The Griffins took set one 28-26 and the two teams alternated set victories, with Westminster prevailing in the fifth set 15-13. Fontbonne led 21-20 in the second set but two Griffin attack errors and three aces allowed Westminster to even the score.

If the teams weren't tied in the third set, Fontbonne led for all but one serve as they took a 2-1 lead but Westminster blasted through for a 25-18 fourth-set victory to force the fifth set. The Griffins held a 6-5 lead in the final frame but couldn't recover after three consecutive points put Westminster on top 8-6.

Both teams were forceful on defense at the net with Fontbonne tallying nine total blocks but the Griffins had to try and dodge Westminster's tough 13.5 blocks.

Sophomore Kristina Eason and senior Alli Brown led Fontbonne at the net in double-digit kills with 15 and 10 respectively. Eason recorded her career-high kills hitting .364 on the night. Brown averaged .263 while sophomore right-side hitter Megan McKenzie recorded a .318 hitting percentage with nine kills. Senior Holly Richter was part of four blocks but freshman Emma Seiz tallied five block assists and one solo block in the loss. Mariana Rogers led the Griffins with 25 digs.

Westminster's Hannah Marshall led the game with 19 kills while Elizabeth Kelley hit .565.

Fontbonne will play at Webster University this weekend, taking on the host Gorloks at 11 a.m. followed by Greenville at 1 p.m. Also attending the conference quad matchup is Westminster. All four teams were in last year's SLIAC Tournament.