Griffins Fall Against Greenville and Spalding

JACKSONVILLE, Ill.—The Fontbonne University women's volleyball team hit the court today for two key St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) outings. However, the Griffins fell 3-0 (16-25, 22-25, 17-25) against Greenville and 3-1 (21-25, 26-24, 15-25, 22-25) against Spalding.

Greenville 3 Fontbonne 0

The Griffins (1-6; 0-3 SLIAC), totaled 23 kills against the Panthers. They were led by the duo of Olivia Tallo and Kristina Eason each recording six kills. They were also strong on the defensive side of the net with Tallo collecting 12 digs, while Eason added 11. 

Megan Schaller and Abby Grumich contributed nine assists each, while Claire Sease led them on the defensive side of the net with 15 digs.

Greenville (7-0; 3-0 SLIAC), meanwhile, collected a hitting percentage of .185 after totaling 41 kills. Allyson Mitchell just missed out on a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs. Brittni Bell added eight kills and five block assists, while Abby Freeman was impressive with her eight kills and match-high seven service aces.

In the first set, the Panthers jumped out to a 10-5 lead on a Griffins set error. From there, they extended its lead out to 20-10 on a kill from Freeman and went on for the 25-16 win.

In the second frame, after trailing early the Griffins tied the game at 7-7 on a GU service error. The team then rattled off a 3-0 run, capped off by a Panthers attack error to make it 10-7.

They maintained that advantage of 18-14 until Greenville went on a 4-0 run of its own to even it back up at 18-18. The Panthers went on to take the lead at 21-20 and never looked back, going on for the 25-22 win. Fontbonne played its best of the match with its 12 kills and .100 hitting percentage.

In the third, Greenville took an 8-4 lead and went on to expand its advantage out to 13-4 on a Griffins ball handling error. FBU tried to narrow the deficit down with a GU attack error making it 17-12, however, the Panthers proved to be too much, hanging on for the 25-17 set and match win.

Spalding 3 Fontbonne 1

Against Spalding, the Griffins compiled 28 kills and were paced by Kristina Eason's seven kills and team-high 10 digs. Victoria Curtice and Megan McKenzie, meanwhile, added six kills each. Schaller handed out a team-high 13 assists.

On the other side of the net, the Golden Eagles were led by Ashley Chase's breakout performance of 16 kills and .174 hitting percentage. Setter Kaitlin Hall totaled 26 assists, while Koti Weaver finished with 12 digs.

In the first set, it was a back-and-forth outing early with both teams meeting up at 9-9. Then, the Golden Eagles went on an 8-0 run to take a 17-9 advantage.

As the set wore on, the Griffins trimmed down the lead and eventually were down 21-20 after a block assist from Eason and Emma Seiz. Spalding though was able to gather themselves and go on for the 25-21 win.

In the second set, after the two teams met-up at 6-6, the Griffins went off on a 8-1 run to take 14-7 lead on a block assist from Eason and Curtice.

They held onto that lead up until the Golden Eagles squared up the scoreboard at 17-17 after a bad set by Fontbonne. The point-for-point play continued until another 3-0 run by the Griffins, capped off by a McKenzie kill, gave them a one point lead at 23-22. The team was able to fend off Spalding from there, tying the match at 1-1.

In the third, a Golden Eagles attack error tied the game up at 10-10. Spalding went on to take the lead on the next point on a kill from Amanda Patterson. Later, the Golden Eagles were up 20-15 on a kill from Claudia Spivey and from there they won, 25-15.

In the fourth, the battle between the two teams continued as a kill from Eason made it a 10-10 game. Spalding gained some breathing room at 15-11 on a service ace from Weaver, but the Griffins were right with them later in the set at 19-17 on Cutice's kill.

Fontbonne stayed within striking distance at 22-21 on Curtice slamming home the kill, however, the Golden Eagles took the final two points and the match, 25-22.

FBU will now have its home opener on Tuesday as they'll look for its first conference win against MacMurray. First-serve goes up at 7 p.m.

Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com throughout the year for full updates and recaps on the women's volleyball team.