After Close First Set, Webster Pulls Away from Red Devils

EUREKA – The Eureka volleyball team dropped a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference challenge against Webster in three sets on Wednesday.

The Red Devils battled Webster to within two points in the first set, then the Gorloks seized the upper hand in the last two sets. The final scores were 25-23, 25-16, 25-14.

Eureka's Brooklyn Shell (Evansville, Ind./Mount Vernon) finished with a team-high 12 kills while hitting a team-best .132. She also recorded a team-high 18 digs to notch a double-double.

Setters Sara Hart (Secor, Ill./Eureka) and Hope McGinnes (Mackinaw, Ill./Deer Creek-Mackinaw/Lincoln) each distributed 11 assists and contributed 15 and 13 digs, respectively. Libero Regan Reed (Flanagan, Ill./Flanagan-Cornell) also reached double-digits in digs, with 11.

Reed and Alexis Charlton (Eureka, Ill./Eureka) each landed two service aces, and McGinnis had one.

Abby Jacobs led Webster with 11 kills. Emma Lepien and Delaney Demman registered 15 and 14 assists, respectively, while Cassie Gray racked up 34 digs.

The Red Devils were right there with the Gorloks down the stretch in the first set.

After falling into a 6-1 hole to start the match, Eureka came back with six straight points to open a 10-2 run. The Red Devils led by as many as four, but the Gorloks closed the gap at 20-20 as part of a 7-1 run.

Trailing by tree points at set point, Shell delivered back-to-back kills to make it 24-23, but a bad pass on the next play resulted in a Webster win.

Eureka (6-14, 1-8 SLIAC) will next face Greenville and Blackburn at Greenville on Friday at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.