Blue Jays Soar to Championship
There were fresh faces when MacMurray College and Westminster College met in the 2019 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship match. For the first time in 13 years, the SLIAC crowned someone other than Greenville University or Webster University their tournament champion. On Saturday night it was the Blue Jays of Westminster that took the title, marking the 3rd championship in program history and first since 1998.
The two teams battled each other back and forth with neither team leading by more than two points in the opening set until MacMurray went on a four-point run to extend a 17-13 lead. Westminster evened it up at 23-23 but the #4 seeded Highlanders from MacMurray closed out the set with back to back kills from Olivia Wall and Hannah Harbaugh, showing no signs of nervousness.
It was Westminster, the #2 seed in the tournament, that used a run in the second set to take control. The Blue Jays led by three when they opened up a 17-10 lead thanks to a four-point rally of their own. The Blue Jays, who have appeared in three of the last four championship matches, held off any push by the Highlanders and squared up the match with a 25-17 set win.
The match continued with it's back and forth theme as MacMurray jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the third set behind four kills from Kamryn Flesner. However, Westminster rallied and tied the score at 14 on a kill from Teresa Becker and then promptly took the lead on a Highlander attack error. The Blue Jays would not let go of the lead, pushing out to a three-point advantage at 23-20 before closing out the set with a 25-22 win.
The Blue Jays continued their momentum into the fourth set where they wasted no time in getting out to a 10-5 lead. The Blue Jays continued to pound the ball, showing no signs of tiring, hitting a match-high .390 in the fourth set and closing out for a 25-18 win.
Westminster hit .251 in the match and was led by Ashley Kistaitis' 27 kills while Eryka Wanyonyi added 17 kills. Teresa Becker finished with 48 assists and Erica Shrader led the team defensively with 28 digs.
- #SLIACtion -
