The Journal

Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Max Gersh Sophomore Ashley Scanio prepares to bump the ball against Illinois College on Oct. 18.

Students may have gotten the last week off from classes, but the Webster University volleyball team continued their way through the regular season. The team entered fall break off a tough loss Oct. 9 at Principia College.

This loss brought WU into a tie with Principia for first place in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The team needed to get past the loss and start winning again to stay atop the conference rankings. The Gorloks started off with a win in four games against Lincoln Christian College to bring their conference record to 12-1. They followed up with another win against non-conference opponent Illinois College.

Any win is important for a team, but the win was not the only big news of the day. Maryville University had defeated Principia, and once again WU was left alone on top of the conference standings. WU won their last conference game against Greenville College to put their record at 13-1. While the team did have a match scheduled against McMurray College, the match was postponed due to the fact that McMurray was short on players.

WU now has four games left in the conference season. The games will decide who gets the first seed in the conference tournament and the two that are coming up this week may be the most important of the regular season.

On Oct. 23, the Gorloks will take on Maryville. Although Maryville is coming off four consecutive losses, their last win was the upset against Principia. The Saints are bound to come into Grant Gymnasium full of confidence and ready to play a tough match.

On Oct. 25, WU will face off against conference rival Fontbonne University. The Gorloks won the first match of the series, which was played at home earlier in the season. This time, the Gorloks travel to Fontbonne, with Principia hot on their heels for first place in the SLIAC.

Finishing in first place during the regular season is important, but a team's record means little once the conference tournament starts. While having a higher ranking entering the tournament is an advantage, a team still needs to win the tournament in order to advance to the NCAA tournament.

The only other way to enter the tournament is to earn an at-large bid from the NCAA. However, these at-large bids are awarded by looking at the strength of a team's schedule. Due to the relative weakness of the SLIAC, it is rare that a SLIAC team receives an at-large bid.

WU won the conference tournament last year and was able to play in the NCAA regional tournament. By looking at the level of play WU has been at this season, for them to not make it to the regional tournament this year would be a disappointment.

Before the Gorloks look ahead to either the conference or regional tournaments, they need to focus and win in the rest of their regular season games. The first seed in the conference tournament would be a great springboard to further postseason success.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools