FULTON, Mo. – The Greenville University women's volleyball team capped a perfect day in SLIAC play Saturday, sweeping Blackburn before knocking off conference-leading Westminster (Mo.) in four sets at Westminster Gym.
The Panthers opened the day with a 26-24, 25-20, 25-19 victory over Blackburn and followed with a 25-15, 25-19, 25-27, 25-22 win over Westminster.
Against Blackburn, Greenville was led by
Keira Weber's match-high 16 kills on a .500 hitting percentage.
Alyssa Company added eight kills,
Claudia Bonacorsi contributed seven kills and four service aces, and
Kennedy Legendre finished with six kills.
Emma Ratermann directed the offense with 41 assists as the Panthers totaled 47 kills.
After surviving a tight opening set, Greenville gained momentum and closed out the sweep by hitting .258 in the second set and .263 in the third.
Emily Ruppert led the defense with 16 digs, while
Mia McSchooler added nine.
The Panthers carried that momentum into their afternoon matchup with Westminster, handing the Blue Jays just their first SLIAC loss of the season.
Greenville dominated the opening two sets, winning 25-15 and 25-19 while hitting better than .290 in each frame. Westminster rallied to claim a hard-fought third set 27-25, but the Panthers responded by closing out the match with a 25-22 victory in the fourth.
Abby Grohmann paced Greenville's balanced attack with 15 kills and 15 digs for a double-double.
Brooklynn Slusser and
Kennedy Legendre each added 11 kills, while
Alyssa Company chipped in nine. The Panthers finished with 55 kills and a .217 team hitting percentage while limiting Westminster to a .097 mark.
Ratermann recorded 44 assists and added four kills, while Bonacorsi sparked Greenville from the service line with six aces. Defensively, Bonacorsi collected 16 digs, Grohmann had 15, McSchooler added 14, and Ruppert finished with 14 digs.
Greenville also controlled the net, totaling 20 block assists and 22 team blocks. Company contributed seven block points, while Slusser and Grohmann each added four block assists.
The two victories extended Greenville's winning streak to four matches and kept the Panthers unbeaten through their first three conference contests. Greenville has now won five of its last six matches.
The Panthers (10-5, 3-0 SLIAC) will host Webster on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
