COLUMBUS, Miss. – The W women's volleyball made the most of its first-ever appearance in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) post-season tournament by sweeping Blackburn College, 3-0, before a raucous crowd of 329 at Pohl Gym. The No. 4-seeded Owls (11-16) dispatched of the No. 5-seeded Beavers (12-17) in the quarterfinal match-up by set scores of 25-17, 25-15, 25-19.
 
MUW will now advance to the SLIAC semifinals versus No. 2-seed Westminster College on Saturday (November 15/2 p.m.). The semis and championship matches are being played on the campus of Greenville University in Greenville, Illinois.
 
The W took control of Blackburn from the outset and were never really threatened, thanks to tremendous offense and stifling defense by the hosts. The Owls only trailed four times during the entire three sets (twice each in the first and third sets, leading wire-to-wire in the second).
 
The MUW attack was led by its big four up front of sophomore Megan Neeb, junior transfer Skye Letson, junior Madyson McBrayer, and freshman Sydney Barrett. The quartet helped The W to its second-highest attack percentage of the entire season at .354 in 113 attempts.
 
Neeb, a New Hope High School alumnae, led all attackers with 16 kills and a sterling .414 attack percentage. Neeb also had nine digs and was errorless in 16 receptions, as well.
 
Letson booked her 22nd match with double-digit kills by knocking down 15 and hit .407 in 27 tries. McBrayer, also a product of New Hope H.S., finished with 11 kills, eight digs and a pair of service aces.
 
Barrett had 11 kills, as well, and set a new modern era single match record with a .714 attack average (the previous record was .667, set during the 2020-21 season by Lacey Evans). Barrett made just one error in her 14 swings.
 
Defensively, The W had an answer for most of the Beavers' attacks, limiting the guests to a .082 attack average. As a unit, MUW rolled up 51 digs (BC had 31), led by libero Brooklyn Comfort's 16 (who was also errorless in her 10 reception attempts, as well).
 
The Owls also doubled up on Blackburn in total blocks, 8-to-4, led by three from Avery Watts.
 
Junior setter Kinsley Kennedy obliterated her own MUW record for assists in a three-set match (was 39), by dishing off 46 helps out of the team's 51. Kennedy also contributed nine digs.
 
"What a great night to be at Pohl Gym," MUW Head Coach Breylee Linder said. "The team played with such poise and confidence tonight, and absolutely showed who they are and how hard they've worked to be here. A huge shout out to everyone who came out and supported us; it really created a presence that our players thrived in."