The Journal

Issue date: 11/10/05 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Mario Ulibarri Sophomore Jessie Jo Warner spikes the ball to Westminster College opponents.

Like all good things, the women's volleyball season had to come to an end. Much to the dismay of coach Merry Graf and her team, the year ended just short of the season goal.

On Nov. 5 the Gorloks faced their first opponent in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) tournament, the MacMurray Highlanders. Webster beat MacMurray to clinch the SLIAC title Nov. 1 and was looking to end the Highlanders season by handing them a loss in the first round.

The Gorloks came out strong and looked intense and determined. The crowd, although small, was into the game and reacted to nearly every play. Webster won the first game with relative ease and had confidence entering game two. After committing a few hitting and serving errors, Webster's women started to realize that MacMurray would not go down without a fight. The Gorloks regained their composure following a long rally that fell in their favor. They won the second and third games due in large part to the numerous kills by sophomore Crystal Shelton and sophomore Jessie Jo Warner and prepared for their next opponent, the Fontbonne Griffins.

All SLIAC eyes were on the court as the top-seeded Gorloks and second-seeded Griffins stepped onto the floor and prepared to play the biggest match of their seasons. The atmosphere in the gym was electric and the large crowd included many Fontbonne fans, nearly the entire Webster men's basketball team, many members of the Webster women's soccer team fresh off their SLIAC tournament victory against Maryville earlier that day and seven Webster fans who painted the letters G-O-R-L-O-K-S on their chests.

The game itself was everything that a volleyball fan would have expected from the top two teams in the SLIAC. Big blocks, hard kills and diving digs were plentiful as both teams fought for their season lives and an all-important berth in the NCAA tournament.

After dropping game one 30-25, the Gorloks regrouped on the bench and entered game two with a fire in their eyes. Shelton, Warner and freshman Erin Grobe pounded Fontbonne with a barrage of hard-hit balls and the Gorloks took game two 30-28.

Fontbonne rebounded in game three by capitalizing on some obvious frustration from the Gorloks and won 30-25. However, Webster was not ready to let their season slip away. In an extremely close game four, Shelton and junior Melanie Klingelhoefer showed their leadership skills by pulling the Gorloks together and encouraging them through their words and actions on the floor. Klingelhoefer put on a setting clinic for all to see, allowing her hitters to take advantage of every opportunity they were given to record a kill. Crucial blocks from freshman Megan Floarke and precise serving from freshman Melissa Werner allowed the Gorloks to come back from a 23-17 deficit and win the game 30-23 and tie the match at two games a piece.

The fate of both teams rested on the outcome of the fifth and final game. Fontbonne won the coin toss and served first. After a back and forth match, the Gorloks found themselves down 14-10. The final volley of the game would prove to be the last of their season as the ball was lofted over the net by a Fontbonne player and landed just inside the line to give Fontbonne the win.

Although the Gorloks fell just short of an NCAA tournament appearance, they have much to be proud of. The team finished 21-10 with a SLIAC Championship and Grobe and Shelton were given All-Conference honors.

Graf said this team has a great future ahead of it and it will be a force to be reckoned with in 2006.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools