Fulton, Mo., March 27, 2021 – The Westminster College volleyball team opened the SLIAC Conference Tournament with a 3-0 straight sets win over the Iowa Wesleyan University Tigers in the quarterfinals (25-12, 25-23, 25-20). The Blue Jays will welcome the Webster University Gorloks to Historic Gym on Wednesday March 31st for a 7:00 p.m. SLIAC Semi-Final.
The Blue Jays got off to a hot start in the first set. The Jays used a 7-0 run to take a commanding 15-5 lead that they would not give back. Three Eryka Wanyonyi kills, a Gretchen Durbala service ace and a Clair Whitehouse kill fueled the run. The Blue Jays would then cruise to the 25-16 win in set 1 and a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Second set saw the Tigers put up a fight. On three different occasions late in the second set the Tigers would rally to within one point of the Blue Jays. The Jays would have an answer every time. The Tigers pulled within 22-21 but a Haley Menke kill would give the Jays some breathing room. The Tigers again clawed to within 24-23 before a Wanyonyi kill would end the set 25-23 and give the Blue Jays a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set saw more errors by both sides. A 5-0 run at the start of the set gave the Blue Jays the room they needed to work with. Kills by Menke and Peyton Bledsoe along with three Tiger errors highlighted the run. The Tigers would fight their way back within 20-16 late but the Blue Jays would benefit from four straight errors b the Tigers to end the set 25-20 and the match 3-0.
The Blue Jay attack was lead by Menke with 12 kills and Wanyonyi added 9 kills. Durbala recorded 27 assists. Erica Schrader anchored the defense with 14 digs.
