Women's Volleyball Rallies To Force Fifth Set, But Falls In Finale Against Pomeroys

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The Fontbonne University women's volleyball team battled back from a two-set deficit against St. Mary-of-the-Woods, however, the Pomeroys escaped with the five-set victory.

Final: St. Mary-of-the-Woods 3, Fontbonne 2 (25-20, 27-25, 22-25, 22-25, 15-13)

Location: DSAC

Records: St. Mary-Woods (8-14), Fontbonne (3-17)

How It Happened

In the first set, the Pomeroys opened with a 13-11 lead on Pamela Dorman's service aces. The Griffins went on a 4-0 run with kills from Rae Andres (two), Maura Rabun, and Abby Grumich giving them the 15-13 lead. The Pomeroys answered with an 8-0 run and never looked back from there for the 25-20 win.

In the second set, the Griffins started out fast with a 13-4 lead on Jessica Molden's kill. Later in the set, the Griffins were in control as Emma Seiz's kill gave them a 18-8 advantage. However, the Pomeroys chipped away at the deficit and grabbed a 23-22 lead on Dorman's ace.

The two teams traded points and met-up once more, 25-25, on Seiz's kill. St. Mary-Woods went on to finish off the set on Riley Kinney's kill and a Fontbonne attack error for the 27-25 win.

In the third, it was back-and-forth play once again with Fontbonne taking a 14-13 lead on a block assist from Rabun and Molden.

The Griffins maintained its marginal lead of 20-18 but the Pomeroys regained the 22-21 advantage on a Fontbonne attack error.

Fontbonne gathered themselves and closed out the set on a 4-0 run for the 25-22 win to force a fourth set.

In the fourth, St. Mary-of-the-Woods held a lead throughout and stretched it to 20-14 on a Griffin attack error. The Griffins went on a 7-0 run and put themselves back out in front, 21-20. The team never relinquished its lead as Rabun's kill gave Fontbonne the 25-22 victory to force a fifth and final set.

In the finale, Fontbonne was first in the race to eight before switching courts as Rabun's kill put them on top, 8-7. However, a 5-0 run by the Pomeroys gave them some breathing room. Later, the Griffins trimmed it down to 14-13 on a Pomeroys attack error, though they would finish the set and the match off on Mandi Alspach's kill for the 15-13 set and match win.

Inside The Numbers

• The Griffins were busy on both sides of the net. The team set new season-highs in kills (63), assists (59), digs (109), block assists (18), and total blocks.
• St. Mary-of-the-Woods ended with 54 kills, a .134 hitting percentage, 96 digs, and 14 block assists.

Fontbonne Leaders

• Andrews earned her third straight double-double and sixth overall in 2019 with a career-high 18 kills and 12 digs.
• Rabun added 12 kills, while Seiz had another strong outing at the net with 10 kills, a .409 hitting percentage, and four blocks.
• Abby Grumich came away with her second straight double-double with 42 assists and a season-high 13 digs. Offensively, she added seven kills.
• Defensively, Megan Schaller led with a team-high 33digs.
• Taylor Jackson set a career-high with 25 digs and came away with nine kills.

St. Mary-of-the Woods Leaders

• Riley Kinney led with a team-high 15 kills. Meagan White and Jaelyn Fennell added 11 and 10, respectively.
• Setter Katelyn Cotter collected a double-double with 41 assists and 17 digs.
• Defensively, Pamela Dorman totaled a match-high 44 digs.

Up Next

The Griffins return to action on Thursday night when they'll host Greenville. First-service 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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