Griffins Fall In Heartbreaking Fashion Against Westminster

FULTON, Mo.—The first St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) volleyball game did not disappoint between Fontbonne and Westminster. However, the outing did not fall in favor for the Griffins with the Blue Jays earning a come-from-behind five set (22-25, 25-23, 25-19, 19-25, 11-15) win.

The Griffins (1-4; 0-1 SLIAC), set a new season-high in kills (50) and assists (46) on Tuesday night. Leading the way was Kristina Eason who performed well on both sides of the net with her season-high 13 kills and 13 digs.

Olivia Tallo also recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 14 digs, while Victoria Curtice made it three straight games reaching double-digit kills with 10.

Megan Schaller continues to perform well at the setter position with 23 assists, while Claire Sease collected a team-high 18 digs.

On the other side of the court, Westminster (2-3; 1-0 SLIAC) was led by Ashley Kistaitis' team-high 14 kills and 13 digs. Natalie Needy and Hannah Marshall both added 11 and 10 kills respectively. Teresa Becker dished out a game-high 43 assists, while Teresa Becker and Bridget Ringwald tied with 22 digs.

In the first set, Westminster opened with an 11-8 lead but a quick 5-0 run capped off by an Abby Krumich kill put the Griffins on top 13-11.

FBU was still clinging to a 19-18 advantage on a kill from Megan McKenzie, however, a 3-0 run from the Blue Jays put them back out in front by two at 22-20. That was enough for the Blue Jays to hang on from there and go on for the 25-22 win.

In the second frame, Westminster came out of the gate with a 7-3 lead. They maintained that advantage at 15-12, until the Griffins stormed back with a 5-1 run giving them a 17-16 lead on a Curtice kill.

They met-up once again at 19-19 but Eason got the lead back for the Griffins with another kill. Fontbonne was able to fend off the Blue Jays and take the second, 25-23. FBU played its best set of the night with its 15 kills and team-high .275 hitting percentage.

In the third, it was Fontbonne this time around taking the advantage at 11-8 on a Blue Jays attack error. It was all Griffins the rest of the way, never relinquishing its lead despite some late charges from the Blue Jays and they won set three, 25-19.

The Griffins had hopes of ending it in the fourth but the Blue Jays wouldn't go quietly with them opening the set on top 9-4. Later, Fontbonne cut it down to one (14-13) on a block assist from Megan McKenize and Emma Seiz.

The visitors stayed within striking distance at 18-17 on a kill from Eason, though the Blue Jays halted a comeback with them going on a 3-0 run to take a 21-17 lead and they went on to take it 25-19, forcing a fifth and final set.

In the finale, Tallo tied it up with a kill at 5-5. Westminster broke it open with a 9-5 lead, but back came the Griffins with a 3-0 run as consecutive kills from Eason narrowed the scoreboard down to 9-8.

However, the Blue Jays expanded on its lead to 12-10 and they were able to hang on for the 15-11 set and match win.

Fontbonne returns to the court on Saturday at MacMurray as they'll take on Greenville at 11 a.m., followed by Spalding at 1 p.m.

Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com for a full recap and score from this weekend's action.