Westminster Ousts Eureka Tuesday

FULTON, Mo. – Westminster won its eighth straight St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match and temporarily moved into a tie atop the current league standings in a 25-19, 25-17, 25-15 victory over the Eureka College volleyball team, Tuesday night in Fulton, Mo.

In game one, Eureka trailed by a single point (9-8) before the Blue Jays pulled away with an 11-4 burst for a 20-12 advantage. The Red Devils were able to inch back within five points (24-19), but Allie Kennebeck provided game point with a kill from Teresa Becker and the hosts won the opening set, 25-19.

The Red Devils put WC on its heels early in game two, racing to a 6-2 lead thanks to four Westminster errors and kills from Heather Robinson (Peoria, Ill./Limestone H.S.) and Anna Crank (Washburn, Ill./Midland H.S./Clarke). EC held the lead as late as 14-13 before Kennebeck's kill triggered a run of four straight points for the Blue Jays. Lexi Dooley (Sutter, Ill./Warsaw H.S.) put down a kill for a 19-17 EC deficit before WC ripped off six in a row, including a Hannah Marshall service ace on game point, to secure a 2-0 lead in the match.

Westminster scored the first four points of game three and never looked back. Dooley's kill on an assist from Robinson trimmed the Eureka deficit to 11-8, but WC punched back with eight straight points during service from Marshall to lead 19-8. Kennebeck's kill ended the match with a 25-15 win.

Crank registered seven of Eureka's 23 kills. Dooley followed with six. Robinson logged a double-double with 12 assists and 12 digs, while McKenna Cleer (Havana, Ill./Havana H.S.) and Crank shared the team lead with 15 digs apiece. Kary Langan (Lakewood, Ill./Shelbyville H.S.) led all players with four total blocks.

Ashley Kistaitis put down a match-high 12 kills for Westminster. The Blue Jays picked up 38 assists on 39 kills and attacked at a .159 clip.

Eureka will return home Thursday and break from SLIAC competition for a 7 p.m. meeting with Lincoln Christian. The Red Lions topped the Red Devils in four games last month in Lincoln.