Griffins defeat Principia in fifth-set thriller; fall to Westminster

St. Louis, Mo. - Fontbonne women's volleyball went 1-1 Saturday when they took on Principia College and Westminster College, hosted by Webster University.

Fontbonne got off to a good start, taking down Principia 25-21, only to find the score reversed for set two. The Griffins dominated the third set with a 25-16 victory but again found themselves on the other side of the scoreboard with an 18-25 fourth-set loss. In the fifth set, Principia led 5-2 when Fontbonne scored six straight points and a couple points later the Panthers scored five in a row to lead 12-9. Fontbonne took a 13-12 lead and the teams would go back and forth until the Griffins prevailed 22-20.

Fontbonne's Kersten McDonough tallied 30 kills, 21 digs and posted a .243 hitting percentage. The Griffins hit .333 in the first set and Bailey Benes led all Griffins with a .286 average and nine kills. Kristina Eason tallied double-digit kills (11) with a .258 average. Along with McDonough, Lynsey Wehrenberg recorded a double-double with 30 assists and 21 digs.

Fontbonne's second match of the day was a tough one as the Griffins fell in three sets to Westminster. Fontbonne led 20-18 in the second set when Westminster closed out the win with seven straight points. The Blue Jays secured the third-set win with four consecutive points.

On the day, libero Maddie Stadler recorded 36 digs while Carissa Dodge totaled three solo blocks and three block assists.

Fontbonne travels to Lincoln Christian University Monday for a 3pm contest, followed by a week off before returning to SLIAC action at Greenville on Tuesday, October 20th.