For the third time in its last five NCAA III Championships appearances, the Webster University volleyball team will travelling down Big Bend for first round Regional play...but this time vs. Emory University (GA), winners of the University Athletic Association (UAA), and ranked sixth nationally in the NCAA III. The two teams square off on November 14 (Friday) at 3 pm on the campus of Washington University.
Live stats and video of matches at the Washington U. Regional will be available at the regional website
HERE.
Webster (22-12) closed the regular season by capturing the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for the fourth straight year, winning an automatic bid to the NCAA III Championships. The Gorloks entered the tournament as the #2 seed, and defeated #3 Westminster College, 3-1, then defeated #4 Spalding University, 3-0, for the crown. It was the second time Webster has won four straight SLIAC titles, also winning from 2006-09, giving them eight NCAA appearances in the last nine years.
The Gorloks are currently fifth in the NCAA III in blocks per set, at 2.38. Leading the way up front for Webster is SLIAC All-Conference First-Teamer, Sam Kersting (SR, St. Louis, MO/Lindbergh HS) at 1.10 blocks per set and junior Rachel Nelson (Papillion, NE/Papillion-LaVista South HS) at 1.08. Kersting and Nelson rank 24th and 27th, repectively, in the NCAA III in that category.
Emory earned an automatic bid to the NCAAs by winning the UAA Championship and are the #1 seed in the Regional. The Eagles (34-3) are making their 20th NCAA Tournament appearance, including 19 in a row. Emory has an all-time record of 35-19 in the tournament, including winning the 2010 NCAA III National Championship.
Webster played in regionals in Chicago the past two seasons, but faced host Washington University in both 2009 and 2011. If Webster advances, they would face the winner of the Millikin University (30-9) vs Thomas More College (29-4) match. Millikin has been a semi-regular on Webster's schedule, with the Gorloks playing the Big Blue eight of the previous 11 seasons. The teams did not face each other in 2014.
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