Eureka, IL, 10/8/21 – The Westminster College volleyball team travelled to play the Eureka College Red Devils on Friday night looking to add to their six-game winning streak. The Blue Jays jumped out to big leads and ran away with the match, winning 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-18) in dominating fashion. The win, which was their seventh in a row, evened the Blue Jays overall record at 9-9 while their SLIAC record improved to 5-1 and kept them in second place.
The first set saw the Blue Jays leading 10-8 when they went on a 6-0 run to break the set open 16-8. Two Gretchen Durbala (Burlington, IA / Burlington) service aces keyed the run. The Jays would cruise to the end of the set and when Claire Whitehouse (St. Louis, MO / Parkway Central) smashed a kill it would give the Blue Jays a 25-12 set one victory and a 1-0 lead in the match.
Set number two didn't go much better for the Red Devils after a solo block by Whitehouse the Blue Jays would find themselves with a 13-5 lead and in control of the set again. They would widen that lead to 20-8 on back to back errors by the Red Devils. The Blue Jays would then close out set two 25-14 for a 2-0 lead.
The Blue Jays had their sights set on a sweep heading into the third set. An Eryka Wanyonyi (Columbia, MO / Hickman) kill would stake the Jays to a 11-6 lead. Later in the set Haley Menke (O'Fallon, MO / Fort Zumwalt South) would record a kill that would give the Blue Jays their biggest lead of the set at 21-14. Whitehouse would then close out the third set and the match with a kill 25-18.
Menke would lead the Blue Jay offense with ten kills, followed by Wanyonyi with eight and Whitehouse with seven including hitting a match high .500. Durbala would lead the team in assists with 18. Erica Schrader (Imperial, MO / St. Pius X) would lead the defense with 12 digs followed by Wanyonyi with ten. Menke and Celissa Kennedy (Ashland, MO / Southern Boone) each had three total blocks to lead the team. Kate Rable (Saint Peters, MO / Fort Zumwalt South) recorded a team high three service aces.
The Blue Jays will now return home in search of their eighth straight victory. They will welcome the Fontbonne University Griffins to Historic Gym for a 7:00 p.m. first serve.
