Women's Volleyball Comeback Effort Falls Short Against Blue Jays

FULTON, Mo.—The Fontbonne University women's volleyball team tried to erase a two sets to none deficit, however, the Westminster Blue Jays spoiled the Griffins efforts in the fifth hanging on for the win.

Result

Westminster def. Fontbonne, 3-2 (25-23, 25-16, 22-25, 17-25, 15-9)

Records

Westminster (10-9; 6-1 SLIAC), Fontbonne (4-11; 3-4 SLIAC)

The Basics

Set 1: The Griffins held an early lead and near the midway point were on top 13-10 on Jordan Harpel's kill. Later, after another Harpel kill the Griffins led 19-16. The Blue Jays started to chip away and eventually grabbed a 22-20 advantage on a kill from Eryka Wanyoni.

Fontbonne responded with a 3-0 run with Jessica Molden's service ace giving Fontbonne a 23-22 lead. Westminster closed out the set on a 3-0 run of its own with kills from Wanyonyi and Claire Whitehouse giving them the 25-23 win.

Set 2: In the second set, the Blue Jays opened with a commanding 16-9 lead and with Westminster posting 11 kills on 28 swings in the set they were able to go on for the 25-16 victory.

Set 3: Fontbonne jumped out to an 11-9 lead on a kill from Hannah Gallagher. Westminster regained the 16-14 advantage, however after a point-for-point battle the Griffins reclaimed a 22-21 lead on Kristen Kaempfe's kill.

From there, the Griffins never looked back getting back-to-back kills from Jadyn Fitzgerald to secure the 25-22 win. It was the best set of the night offensively for Fontbonne totaling 14 kills and a .480 hitting percentage. Hannah Gallagher led with five kills on five swings, while Fitzgerald and Kaempfe contributed four and three kills, respectively.

Set 4: The Griffins trailed 8-6 but rattled off a 13-1 run taking a commanding 16-9 lead. The team never let Westminster back into the picture winning 25-17 to force a fifth and final set.

Set 5: Westminster took the momentum back in the fifth owning an 8-5 lead on Heather Ripperger's service ace. Unfortunately, the Griffins were unable to mount one final comeback falling 15-9.

Fontbonne Leaders

• The Griffins finished with 46 kills and a .136 hitting percentage.
• At the net, the team set new season-highs in solo blocks (five) and total blocks (nine).
• Gallagher led with a team-high 13 kills and .400 hitting percentage.
• Fitzgerald recorded her 13^th career double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs.
• Kaempfe earned her third double-double on the season with 10 kills and 10 digs.
• Harpel added seven kills, a .357 hitting percentage, and two solo blocks.
• Ella Werner-Click handed out 39 assists.
• Emma Pramik ended with a match-high 18 digs.

Up Next

The Griffins jump out of conference play tomorrow when they'll visit Principia. First-service at 7 p.m.

About Fontbonne University

Fontbonne University is a private, Catholic liberal arts university located in St. Louis, committed to a transformative education and inspiring students to become global citizens who think critically, act ethically and serve responsibly. The university, founded in 1923, is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. For more information, visit www.fontbonne.edu.

Make sure to follow the women's volleyball team on all its social media accounts: Twitter (@FontbonneV), Instagram (@fontbonnewvb) and Facebook (/LadyGriffsVB).