The Journal

Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Max Gersh Head volleyball coach Merry Graf jumps out of her chair Nov. 3 as the Gorloks defeat Principia College 33-31 in the third game. Graf was awarded the honor of SLIAC Coach of the Year.

The buzz left over from an exciting conference tournament win against second seed Principia College is slowly beginning to fade, just in time for Webster University to prepare for the NCAA Regional Tournament.

The Gorloks started the night off Nov. 3 by beating fourth-ranked Greenville College, while Principia defeated Fontbonne University to set up a heated match between the two top-ranked teams in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

WU and Principia split the season series, each winning their respective home matches. The trend continued in the tournament as the Gorloks used their home court advantage to take the SLIAC title. A packed house in Grant Gymnasium was on their feet for nearly the entire match as the Gorloks beat Principia in three very close games, with the last game going into extra points and ending with a score of 31-33.

The Gorloks won a team record 25 matches this season and have won the SLIAC title two of the last three years. They have also won the SLIAC Conference tournament and secured a berth in the NCAA tournament the past two.

The NCAA regional tournament will be held Nov. 8 through Nov. 10 at Wittenburg University in Springfield, Ohio. The Gorloks have been ranked seventh in the Midwest region and will be playing their first match against Ohio Northern University.

Northern has played very well so far this season and is ranked 10th in the nation in Division III, up from the 11th rank they held last week. Although the Gorloks have not played Ohio Northern this season, they do share a few common opponents. Northern played Washington University earlier this season and lost the match to the Bears in three games.

Coach Graf also has an extra interest in this game. During Graf's senior year of her college volleyball career at Millikin University, Ohio Northern was the team that knocked her team out of the NCAA tournament.

"Of course I want to win for our team right now, but it would be nice to have a little revenge from my college career," said Graf.

Unfortunately, not all good came out of the SLIAC title match. Two of the Gorlok starters, senior Crystal Spinner and sophomore Jackie Schall were injured. Both players played extremely important roles during the Gorloks run this season. Schall has not been able to practice since, but should be back in time for the tournament this weekend. The news is not looking as good in Spinner's case. She has been working with the trainer for the past few days and is day-to-day. Coach Graf is hoping that she will be able to play at 100 percent in the tournament, but right now nothing is definite.

Although the game will be played in Ohio, fans will still be able to see the game through a webcast. By going on the WU Volleyball Web site at http://www.webster.edu/athletics/wvolleyball, fans can click a link that will allow them to watch streaming video of the match.

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