Westminster Volleyball Takes Home SLIAC Regular Season Title

Westminster Volleyball Takes Home SLIAC Regular Season Title

FULTON, Mo. - Westminster volleyball defeated Webster 3-1 to claim the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season title and the rights to host the SLIAC Tournament this Saturday.

This is the first time Westminster has won the regular season SLIAC title and hosted the tournament since 1999, breaking Greenville's seven-year streak.

The Blue Jays finish the season 20-10 with a 16-2 record in conference to claim the No. 1 seed. 

Before the game, Westminster honored senior Hannah Marshall

"We played today to celebrate Hannah," said Westminster Head Coach Natalia Koryzna. "She has been a significant piece to the Westminster volleyball program and we are excited for her to be able to finish with a win." 

The Blue Jays started the game slow, falling 25-21 in the first set, but came back to win the next three sets in a row. 

While the second set remained a close battle at 25-20, the Blue Jays powered through to defeat the Gorlocks by double-digits in the remaining two sets. 

Ashley Kistaitis posted a double-double on the day with a team-leading 15 kills and 21 digs. Bridget Ringwald also tallied 21 digs. 

Freshman Sarah Rivers had solid contributions to the game at middle as well, recording a season-high 13 kills and a .258 hitting percentage on the match. 

In her final regular season game, Marshall landed 11 kills. Teresa Becker led the way with 42 assists. 

"I feel extremely privileged to be able to coach such an incredible group of women," said Koryzna. "We work hard to get better as a team and it paid off."

Westminster will face No. 4 seed Principia Saturday at home at 2 p.m. in the opening round of the SLIAC Tournament.