Griffins Earn A Five-Set Win Against Spalding; Fall In Four Sets Against Greenville

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Fontbonne University women's volleyball team picked up a five-set (25-22, 17-25, 26-28, 25-17, 15-11) win against Spalding to start the day off on Saturday. However, against Greenville, the Griffins fell in four sets (25-20, 24-26, 19-25, 11-25).

Fontbonne 3 Spalding 2

Against the Golden Eagles (1-8; 0-5 SLIAC), the Griffins totaled 56 kills, a .189 hitting percentage, a season-high 51 assists, 69 digs, and 10 block assists.

Individually, Maura Rabun led with 13 kills, a .321 hitting percentage, and four block assists. Kristina Eason, Victoria Curtice, and Megan McKenzie tied with 11 kills each, which is a new season-high for McKenzie.

Megan Schaller tied her season-high with 24 assists, while Abby Grumich stepped up with a season-high 20 assists as well. Defensively, Sarah Borgerding led with 14 digs, Megan Schaller had 13, and Daisy Watkins tied her career-high with 11.

The Golden Eagles ended the afternoon with 50 kills and 72 digs. Claudia Spivey paced them offensively with 13 kills and a .400 hitting percentage. Mya Summers had 34 assists and Dawson Kemme had a match-high 17 digs.

In the first set, the Griffins jumped out to a commanding 17-9 lead on a block assist from Rabun and Eason. The Golden Eagles though kept battling and got it to within one (22-21), however, the Griffins fended of SU for the 25-22 win on Tallo's kill.

In the second, it was Spalding this time around owning a marginal 15-13 lead on Spivey's kill. From there, it was all Spalding, closing out the set on a 10-4 run, winning 25-17.

It was back-and-forth play throughout the third. The Griffins though took an 18-17 lead on Emma Seiz's kill. The two teams went point-for-point the rest of the way, but it was Spalding hanging on for the 28-26 victory.

Needing a win in the fourth, the Griffins opened with an 11-5 advantage. Spalding cut the deficit down to 17-16 on a Mya Summers service ace, but that'd be as close as they'd get with Fontbonne forcing a fifth and final set. After having a match-high 17 kills in the third, the Golden Eagles struggled in the fourth with seven kills and 10 errors for a negative -.097 hitting percentage.

In the finale, the Griffins were the first in the race to eight points before the two teams switch sides, owning an 8-6 lead.

Spalding later regained at 10-9, but the Griffins finished off the match on a 6-1 run, capped off by Curtice's kill for the 15-11 win.

Greenville 3 Fontbonne 1

Against Greenville, the Griffins compiled 41 kills, a .124 hitting percentage, 63 digs, a season-high 14 block assists and 11 blocks overall.

Eason led with 12 kills, while Rabun and Tallo contributed 10 and nine kills respectively. Schaller handed out 19 of the 38 assists, while Curtice finished with a season-high 18 digs.

Greenville concluded with 46 assists and was led by Abby Freeman's 19. Setter Abby Quinn had 49 assists, while Brooklyn Pace led with 18 of the 63 digs.

In the first, the Griffins were on top 11-10, but they went on a 6-0 run as block assists from Rabun and Eason made it 17-10. It was all Fontbonne the rest of the way, winning 25-20.

In the second, after back-and-forth play, the two teams met-up at 20-20 on a block assist from Eason and Seiz. Later, the Griffins led 24-23 on Eason's kill and were a point away from going up two sets to none. However, the Panthers went on a 3-0 run, helped out by consecutive Griffins errors for the 26-24 win.

In the third, a kill from Seiz trimmed the Panthers advantage down to 16-13. The Panthers, though expanded on its lead out to 20-14 and went on for the 25-19 victory on Freeman's kill.

Greenville continued its momentum in the fourth with a 13-5 lead. The Griffins had its struggles with three kills and nine errors for a negative .231 hitting percentage, allowing Greenville to win the set and match, 25-11.

Fontbonne returns to action at home next Tuesday night against Principia. First-service 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.

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