Griffins Go 1-1 At Principia; Eason Surpasses 700 Career Kills
ELSAH, Ill.—The Fontbonne University women’s volleyball team came away 1-1 at Principia on Saturday. The Griffins earned a come-from-behind win against MacMurray in five sets (21-25, 14-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-8) but fell against host Principia in four (13-25, 26-28, 25-18, 18-25).
ELSAH, Ill.—The Fontbonne University women's volleyball team came away 1-1 at Principia on Saturday. The Griffins earned a come-from-behind win against MacMurray in five sets (21-25, 14-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-8) but fell against host Principia in four (13-25, 26-28, 25-18, 18-25).
Fontbonne 3 MacMurray 2
Fontbonne (8-14; 6-9 SLIAC), had themselves a match totaling a season-high 59 kills, a .253 hitting percentage and 102 digs against MacMurray.
Kristina Eason led the way with another double-double of a team-high 17 kills, a .457 hitting percentage and 15 digs. With her 17 kills against the Highlanders, Eason also surpassed the 700 kill mark in her career.
Emma Seiz tied her season-high with 10 kills, while Victoria Curtice and Megan McKenzie ended with nine kills each. Megan Schaller contributed a team-high 35 assists, while Claire Sease led them on the defensive side of the net with 33 digs.
MacMurray, meanwhile, was unable to hold its two sets to none lead. Despite that, Olivia Wall dominated with her match-high 28 kills and 18 digs. Setter Janelle Benson added a match-high 50 assists, while Alexis Moore totaled 22 digs.
Principia 3 Fontbonne 1
Against the Panthers, the Griffins totaled 38 kills but were limited to a .086 hitting percentage. Curtice led with her 11 kills and .417 hitting percentage. Schaller added another 20 assists, while Sarah Borgerding was busy defensively with 20 digs.
Principia concluded with 60 kills and they were paced by the duo of Sophia Hathaway and Emily Tippetts, contributing 25 and 20 kills respectively. Settter Devon Marunde dished out 44 assists, while Mia Gil ended the afternoon with 30 digs.
In the first set, it was Principia jumping out ahead at 10-3 on a kill from Hathaway. They stretched it out to 19-9 on a block assist from Tippets and Devon Marunde. They went on from there for the 25-13 win.
In the second, it was FBU this time around taking the early lead at 10-7 on Seiz's kill. They fended off Principia until the home team tied it at 15-all on Hathaway's kill.
The two teams went on to trade multiple lead changes as the set wore on, however, a kill from Abby Grumich gave FBU a 24-23 lead. Principia stayed alive though on the ensuing possession with Noelle Shoemake collecting a solo block.
After a kill by Eason, it was all square at 26-26. Principia though put away FBU as they collected the final two points on kills from Tippetts and Hathaway to take the 28-26 win.
In the third set, Fontbonne once again came out strong, grabbing a 10-7 lead on a block assist from Grumich and Seiz. The team continued rolling from there at 18-12 on Principia's attack error.
The Panthers would narrow the deficit down to 21-18 on a Griffins attack error, but FBU went on to take the final four points, winning 25-18.
In the fourth set, the advantaged swayed back to Principia with them taking an 11-6 lead on a Griffins attack error. They stretched the advantage out to 20-10, but FBU wouldn't go away quietly as a kill from Borgerding made it a 23-17 game.
However, the comeback was not to be for the second straight match as the Panthers went on for the 25-18 win.
The team will return to action next Wednesday when they'll pay a visit to Eureka. 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.