Fontbonne women's volleyball narrowly misses first conference win

St. Louis- Fontbonne women's volleyball put on quite a show tonight but couldn't finish with the win. The Griffins were defeated by conference foe Spalding University in five sets, 2-3 (25-27, 25-23, 18-25, 27-25 and 10-15). Spalding wins its first conference match of the season. The Griffins fall to 2-6 overall and 0-2 in the SLIAC.

The Golden Eagles and Griffins battled back and forth throughout the first set. During the last serve, Griffins fans received hope when freshman Mandy DeWitt dove to make a fantastic dig. Teammates Ana Hibbeler and Amanda Feldhaus failed to continue the play despite great efforts to keep the ball alive. Fans were now fully attentive for the second set. The largest lead during the second set was three points held by the Griffins. The winning point came on a net error by Golden Eagle sophomore Elisa Burkman.

Fontbonne fell apart during the third set. Spalding was running away with a 9-20 lead when the Griffins decided to try for the comeback, scoring nine points to the Golden Eagles' five. Time ran out too soon. Fontbonne led the majority of the fourth set, only giving Spalding the lead when the score was 22-23. Fontbonne was able to secure the win, forcing the 5th set tie-breaker.

Adrenaline rushing, and the final set tied at seven, Spalding pulls away with the 5th set win, 10-15.

Fontbonne returns to Lee McKinney Court tomorrow for conferences matches against Eureka College at 11am and MacMurray College at 1pm.