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Webster Staves Off Eureka Rally in the Gateway City

Photo courtesy of Michelle Curl.
Photo courtesy of Michelle Curl.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Eureka College volleyball team rallied late in game three to extend Tuesday's St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic  Conference match at Webster, but the Gorloks staved off the Red Devils' late-match push to lock down a 25-16, 25-19, 23-25, 25-13 league win in St. Louis, Mo.

Heather Robinson (Peoria, Ill./Bartonville H.S.) attacked a .200 clip as part of a 13-kill effort to lead the visitors attack. Lexi Dooley (Sutter, Ill./Warsaw H.S.) tacked on nine kills to go along with a career-high 36 digs and Katlyn Arrenholz (Delavan, Ill./Delavan H.S.) compiled EC's only double-double with 18 digs and 13 assists.

McKenna Cleer (Havana, Ill./Havana H.S.) had both of the Red Devils' service aces and Sara Worrell (Jacksonville, Ill./Routt Catholic H.S.) led the team with 21 assists.

Webster stunned the visitors early, scoring nine of the match's first 11 points and never relinquishing the lead from that point forward in game one. A Robinson kill and a WU attack error on consecutive rallies allowed the Red Devils back within two, 14-12, before Samantha Kruse's kill triggered the Gorloks' 11-4 burst to end the game.

Eureka led for much of the early stages of set two and also forged ahead later in the game when Kary Langan (Lakewood, Ill./Shelbyville H.S.) finished a set from Arrenholz for an 18-16 lead. The Gorloks scored the next five points behind service from Taylor Kissel and closed the set with a 25-19 triumph.

In game three, Eureka led by as many as four on multiple occasions before Webster's late rally nearly ended the match in straight sets. Trailing 19-15, the Gorloks took advantage of a Eureka attack error to ultimately rally to a 22-21 lead. The two sides were later tied at 23-23 before back-to-back kills by Runa Akagawa (Saitama, Japan/Ritsumeikan Keisho) and Dooley closed out EC's 25-23 win.

The Gorloks never trailed in the fourth game. A 7-2 run midway through the set a slim 9-6 cushion into 16-8 lead after back-to-back kills by Torie Grassi. Sarah Jacobs later secured match point with a kill on an assist from Jenna Rodriguez.

Eureka will be back in action this Saturday in a pair of neutral-site league contests on the campus of MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill. The Red Devils will play preseason league favorite Westminster at 11 a.m. before 1 p.m. bout with Fontbonne.