ST. LOUIS - Westminster volleyball put up a tough battle against Wash U, but eventually fell in five sets.
The Blue Jays move to 15-10 overall and remain in second place in the SLIAC with a record of 11-3. The Bears improve to 19-9 with the win.
"Tonight our ladies came out very strong and clean," said Westminster Head Coach Curtis Madson. "It was some of our best ball all year. We pushed them hard and they responded. I'm most proud of our effort in the fifth. We dusted ourselves off and left it out there."
Westminster started with a bang and got off to an early 2-0 lead with wins in the first two sets. They hit .222 and .279 to start the match, the squad's best marks during the five sets.
The Bears came back strong, allowing the Blue Jays under 10 points in the next two sets to even the score at 2-2.
Westminster clawed their way back into the fifth set, but ended up falling 15-11 after a drawn-out contest.
Hannah Marshall and Ashley Kistaitis led the team with 14 and 13 kills apiece, respectively.
Kayla Reeg recorded 34 assists while Bridget Ringwald added 16 digs for Westminster.
Elizabeth Kelley led the team in kill percentage, with five kills on only 10 attempts and only tallying one error.
"I'm proud of how Elizabeth hung in withone of the best middle in the country tonight," said Madson. "She has stepped up in the face of the toughest challenge she has faced to date."
Westminster returns to SLIAC action Wednesday at Iowa Wesleyan.