Lady Blue Jays go winless at Elmhurst volleyball invite

Westminster dropped all four of its season-opening matches at the Elmhurst Invitational over the weekend.

The Lady Blue Jays bowed in 3-1 decisions to the Luther College Lady Norse and the Dominican University Lady Stars on Saturday while being swept in three sets by the Edgewood College Lady Eagles and the Coe College Lady Kohawks in Friday night's opening matches.

Westminster fell 27-25 in the first game to Luther and 25-13 in the second. The Lady Blue Jays edged past the Lady Eagles 27-25 in the third set, but sputtered in the final game 25-10.

Sophomore outside hitter Riley Lawrence led Westminster's 16.5 percent attack rate with nine kills. Sophomore setter Kayla Reeg distributed 30 assists while freshman libero Kendall Johnson added 10 digs.

The Lady Stars won opened play on Saturday with a 25-16 win before the Lady Blue Jays bounced back with a 25-15 win in game two by converting 48 percent of their attacks.

Westminster's hot hand cooled off the next two games, falling to Dominican 25-18 in the third frame and 25-17 in the fourth as the Lady Blue Jays ended the game hitting 15.7 percent.

Regg earned a double-double of 33 assists and 14 digs, while senior middle hitter Amanda Kiso posted a team-best 10 kills for Westminster. Johnson posted 12 digs against the Lady Stars.

The Lady Blue Jays hit just 9.3 percent against the Lady Eagles, losing 25-17, 25-20 and 25-19. Lawrence produced 11 kills and Reeg assisted on 21 points.

The Lady Kohawks topped Westminster 25-18 in the first two sets then prevailed 25-16 in the final game of the Lady Blue Jays' season opener. Reeg posted a double-double of 28 assists and 10 digs. Junior middle hitter Lexi Collier chipped in a team-high nine kills as Westminster put away 15.2 percent of its attacks.

The Lady Blue Jays (0-4) begins play in the Mount St. Joseph Invitational on Friday in Cincinnati, Ohio. Westminster opens against Heidelberg (Ohio) University at 7 p.m., then will play Thomas More College (Kentucky) and Mt. Saint Joseph at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively on Saturday.