Elsah, IL, 9/28/21 – The Westminster College Blue Jays volleyball team had not played for ten days. They had played a murders row schedule so far and they were hungry for a win. They traveled to Elsah, Illinois to take on the Principia College Panthers. The Blue Jays tore through the Panthers in straight sets 3-0 (25-8, 25-16, 25-18) to improve to 3-9 overall. Principia dropped to 0-6.
The Blue Jays raced out to a 10-1 lead in set one and never looked back. They won the first set 25-8. The Blue Jays hit a sizzling .435 in the first set with 12 kills and only two errors. This allowed the Blue Jays to tear through the Panthers.
In set number two the Blue Jays would use a 5-0 run powered by a Claire Whitehouse (St. Louis, Mo. / Parkway Central) kill, an Erica Schrader (Imperial, MO / St. Pius X) service ace and a Celissa Kennedy (Ashland, MO / Southern Boone) kill to break the set open 21-12 and cruised to a 25-16 win and a 2-0 lead in the match. The Blue Jays would take the lead and never trail in the third set, winning the set 25-18 and the match 3-0.
Eryka Wanyonyi (Columbia, MO / Hickman) would lead the Blue Jays with 13 kills followed by Haley Menke (O'Fallon, Mo. / Fort Zumwalt West) with 10. Gretchen Durbala (Burlington, Ia. / Burlington) recorded 22 assists. Wanyonyi led the Blue Jay defense with eight digs. Kennedy would lead the Jays at the net with four total blocks. Wanyonyi, Kirsten Schrader (Imperial, MO / St. Pius X) and Heather Ripperger (Hillsboro, Mo. / Hillsboro) each recorded three service aces for the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays will now return home for a match against Blackburn College on Thursday September 30th. The match is set for a 7:00 p.m. first serve.
