Webster, Westminster Rally For Wins

The quarterfinal round of the 2022 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Volleyball tournament was a tense battle between four teams with Webster University and Westminster College rallying for wins to advance to the semifinals on Saturday. 

Quarterfinal - #3 Webster defeated #6 Blackburn, 3-1 BOX SCORE
After splitting a pair of five-set thrillers during the regular season it appeared that Webster and Blackburn would make it a trilogy however Webster opened and closed the match with strong sets. Webster took the opening set 25-11 thanks to a .600 team-hitting percentage. Blackburn responded with their best set of the night, winning 25-17. The Beavers then held a 14-12 lead in the third set before Webster was able to take the lead for good on a kill by Abby Jacobs. Jessica Muckensturm dropped in an ace to tie the score at 23 but an error and ace of their own, from Cassie Gray, gave the Gorloks the win. Webster then closed out the match with a 25-13 win and finished the match hitting .264 as a team and recording eight total blocks. Jacobs led Webster with 12 kills while Emma Leppien finished with 20 assists and Cassie Gray added 16 digs. Emilie King led Blackburn with 12 kills while Alivia Reed handed out 19 assists and Autumn Wilson finished with 14 digs.

Quarterfinal - #4 Westminster defeated #5 Spalding, 3-2 BOX SCORE
Visiting Spalding grabbed the early lead against the Blue Jays, taking the opening set 25-21 behind a match-high 14 kills in the set. After hitting just .028 in the first set though the Blue Jays attack came to life, hitting .316 with 16 kills and just four errors to win the second set 25-18. They followed with a 25-19 win in the third set before Spalding responded by winning the fourth set 25-22 to force a winner move on fifth set. Westminster scored the first point of the set on a kill by Meghan Nolte and did not look back, opening up a 9-2 lead. Spalding failed to record a kill in the fifth set and hit .126 as a team in the match. Jayda Branch led the Golden Eagles with 18 kills and 14 digs. Westminster hit .175 as a team with Malena Bixby leading the way with 16 kills. Kate Rable finished with 33 assists while Kirsten Schrader had 15 digs.

What's Next
The 2022 SLIAC Volleyball Tournament continues on Saturday with both the semifinal round and the championship match to be played in Greenville, Illinois. Top seed Greenville will face Westminster in the opening match of the day while second-seeded Fontbonne will take on Webster. Match times are set for 2 p.m., 4 p.m., and 7 p.m. on Saturday and you can watch each match with College Casts. 

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