Women's Volleyball Picks Up Its First Win On The Year Over Knox

JACKSONVILLE, Ill.—The Fontbonne University women's volleyball team split its final two games at the Illinois College Tournament where they fell in five sets against Trine (21-25, 10-25, 25-19, 25-23, 9-15) but responded with a four set win over Knox (25-14, 25-20, 23-25, 25-19).

Earlham 3 Fontbonne University 0 (Friday)

Against Earlham on Friday, the Griffins (1-3) totaled 26 kills and were led by Victoria Curtice with her seven and .429 hitting percentage. Kristina Eason and Olivia Tallo, meanwhile, contributed six and five kills each.

Abby Grumich handed out a team-high 12 assists, while Claire Sease led them on the defensive side of the net with 18 of the teams 57 digs. 

Trine 3 Fontbonne University 2

Against the Thunder, the Griffins finished with 38 kills and were led by Curtice 10 kills and .500 hitting percentage. Schaller had an impressive game with 14 assists, while defensively, the team shined once again with 76 digs. Four players reached double-digits in digs with Sease leading with 21.

Trine, meanwhile, closed out with an impressive 63 kills and .235 hitting percentage. Leading the way was Emma Gaff with her team-high 17 kills. Setter Raven Hood dished out 34 assists, while Lindsey DeCamp finished with a team-high 17 digs.

After the first set was all tied up at 15-15, an ace from Schaller and a kill from Emma Seiz gave the Griffins a 17-15 lead. However, a quick 5-0 run from the Thunder gave them a 20-17 advantage on a Griffins ball handling error. The team closed out the set on a 5-4 run and went on for the 25-21 win.

In the second set, it was a forgettable one for the Griffins with the Thunder opening up on a 13-3 run. They stretched it out to 20-7 and cruised to the 25-10 second set win.

The tables turned though in the third set. Fontbonne jumped out to a 5-0 lead and eventually went ahead 10-4 after a Thunder attack error. Trine cut it down to 15-10 on a kill from Emma Gaff, but three consecutive points from the Griffins gave them some breathing room at 18-10. That was more than enough for Fontbonne to force a fourth set after taking the third, 25-19.

In the fourth, it was back-and-forth early between the two teams before the Thunder went ahead 13-8. Then, the Griffins went on a 5-0 run capped off by a Thunder attack error which tied it up at 13-13, and that forced the Trine coaching staff to take a timeout.

They went point-for-point until the Thunder regained the lead at 21-17. Fontbonne wouldn't give up as they answered with a 5-1 run to tie it at 22-22 on a block assist from McKenzie and Seiz. The team made the comeback complete, winning 25-23 and forced a fifth and final set.

In the finale, the race to the eighth point is key before switching courts and it was the Thunder getting there first at 8-2. Fontbonne tried to get back in it at 11-8 on a Thunder service error, however, Trine fended off the Griffins and went on for the 15-9 set and match win.

Fontbonne 3 Knox College 1

It was a strong performance by the Griffins on both sides of the net against Knox. The team compiled 44 kills and were paced by Curtice with her team-high 11 kills and eight block assists.

Tallo and Eason, meanwhile, added nine and eight kills respectively. Megan Schaller was busy at the setter position with 26 assists, while Sease had herself a game with a team and season-high 34 digs.

The team will return to the court in its first conference outing on the year against Westminster. First-serve goes up at 7 p.m.

Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com for a full recap and score.