The W’s women’s volleyball team made the most of its first-ever appearance in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament on Thursday by blanking Blackburn College 3-0 and earning a trip to today’s semifinal matchup.
The No. 4 seeded Owls were dominant through all three sets, only having to pull away from seven total tied scores and only giving up a lead four times in the contest, which also marked the first time the program has hosted a SLIAC tournament game. Megan Neeb, Skye Letson, Sydney Barrett and Madyson McBrayer all combined for 53 kills to lead The W to a 25-17 victory in the first set and 25-15 and 25-19 triumphs in the second and third sets in front of a loud crowd of 329 fans inside Pohl Gym.
“What a great night to be at Pohl Gym,” head coach Breylee Linder said. “The team played with such poise and confidence tonight, and absolutely showed who they are and how hard they’ve worked to be here. A huge shout out to everyone who came out and supported us; it really created a presence that our players thrived in.”
Neeb, a New Hope product, led the team with 16 kills on a .414 kill percentage along with nine digs on defense. Letson was right behind with 15 kills on .407 hitting, and McBrayer, also a New Hope graduate, finished with 11 kills, two serve aces and eight digs.
Barrett delivered 11 kills and hit a blistering .714 attack average, which set a new modern-era single match record, beating out Lacey Evans’ .667 from the 2020-2021 season. Kinsley Kennedy’s 46 assists bested her own previous program record of 39.
The Beavers were held to only 20 total kills and a 0.82 attack average behind the Owls’ 51 digs and five blocks at the net.
The win advances The W to its first-ever semifinals, where it will square off against No. 2 Westminster College in Greenville, Illinois.
The winner will take on either Webster University or Greenville University in the championship game. Westminster earned two wins (3-2, 3-0) over the Owls during the regular season.
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