ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The W volleyball team found no relief on the road, as it lost a pair of St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) matches. The Owls (2-12, 0-9 SLIAC) lost to host Fontbonne University, 3-1 (25-16, 20-25, 25-18, 25-12), in their morning match and then to Spalding University, 3-1 (25-18, 25-13, 12-25, 25-16), in the afternoon bout.
 
In the first match of the day versus host Fontbonne, the Owls were tied at 7-7. But an 11-3 run by the Griffins created separation, 18-10, over MUW.
 
Set two was The W's shining moment of the morning match. Trailing 18-13, the Owls battled back and knotted the match at 14-14 on a sideout thanks to a block by Jamya Fondren and Madyson McBrayer. Madison Kelly would then reel off five-consecutive winning serves, with Fontbonne using both of its timeouts during her skein in an unfruitful attempt to turn the tide of MUW's set victory.
 
As it turned out, set two may have served as a wake-up call to the Griffins, as the Owls fell behind in set three, 5-1, at the outset and never bounced back. Similarly, in set four, The W was looking at the downside of a 10-0 Griffins' run to open the set and, effectively, seal the match result.
 
A quartet of Owls – Megan Neeb, McBrayer, Avery Watts, and MC Brown – each booked eight kills versus Fontbonne. McBrayer added 12 digs to her match portfolio, as well as three blocks. Fondren and Watts each had three blocks.
 
Senior setter Hannah Duran had 16 assists and Madison Wood added 14. Madison Kelly served up four aces in the loss.
 
In its second contest of the day versus Spalding, the Golden Eagles took the first two sets, before MUW bounced back to win the third, only to see the match closed out in a dominant fourth set by SU.
 
McBrayer powered The W's offense with 12 kills. McBrayer also had six digs and two blocks.
 
Brown chipped in six kills and seven digs. Neeb added five kills and six digs.
 
On defense, Duran and Kelly each logged 10 kills. Duran finished with a double-double by setting 24 assists, while Kelly had a pair of aces.
 
Watts registered four blocks.
 
The W will take a brief respite from its SLIAC slate for its next match on Tuesday (Oct. 15/6 p.m.). The Owls will travel south to Jackson and Belhaven University, for a non-conference match-up.