Westminster has now won five matches in a row in as many days.
After the Blue Jays swept Principia on Tuesday and Blackburn on Thursday, they won a five-set match Friday at Spalding (22-25, 25-13, 25-17, 17-25, 17-15) and then swept both matches Saturday in St. Louis during the Fontbonne Tri-Match against Principia (25-11, 25-10, 25-15) and Fontbonne (25-22, 25-18, 27-25).
Spalding (3-9, 3-2 SLIAC) made Westminster earn it Friday, starting by taking the first set with a 15-7 to erase the early 7-4 Blue Jay lead. Eryka Wanyonyi recorded three straight kills to tie the score at 20, and then she added another to tie it again at 21, but Westminster would fall short.
The second set saw a 13-2 Westminster lead to make it 21-8, thanks to Wanyonyi and Haley Menke kills and a Heather Ripperger service ace to set up set point. Westminster's best set would come at a good time in the third set, when the Blue Jays would hit a match-high .327 and only have three errors, and take the frame behind three kills each from Claire Whitehouse and Payton Bledsoe.
After Spalding used a 6-1 run to take the fourth set, the fifth set would be tied at 6 and then again at 10. Spalding answered a Menke kill with three of its own to take a 13-11 lead. A Blue Jay attack error would give Spalding match point at 14-12, but a Spalding error and Wanyonyi kill would tie at 14. A block assist by Whitehouse and Emma Geier and a Wanyonyi kill would give Westminster the 17-15 set victory.
Wanyonyi led the team with 24 kills, while Menke added 20 kills, and also had 23 to give her second match with at least 20 kills and 20 digs. Gretchen Durbala had a season-high 50 assists.
The Blue Jays continued their run by sweeping Principia (0-7). Westminster jumped to an 11-4 run in the first set, using some early Wanyonyi and Menke kills and Principia attack errors would close the first set quickly. The second set was tied at 6, but a 13-2 Blue Jay run that included three straight service aces by Kate Rable erased any concern and gave Westminster control the rest of the frame.
The third set would be tied at 9 before a 6-1 Westminster run gave the Blue Jays control the rest of the way. Celissa Kennedy had the kill to win the match.
Wanyonyi led with 11 kills, while Menke had 10 kills and a team-high .526 hitting percentage. Durbala recorded 17 assists to surpass 1,000 career assists.
Westminster's sweep of Fontbonne (4-8, 3-2 SLIAC) was more competitive, as there was a six-kill difference between the two teams, with the Blue Jays having the advantage at 46.
The first set began well for Westminster with a 10-4 run, including three consecutive Wanyonyi kills. Fontbonne closed the gap to a 13-12 Blue Jay lead before a Menke kill started another Westminster run to make it 21-15. The gap was closed to one again at 21-20 before Geier kills and attack errors gave the Blue Jays the close set victory.
Fontbonne was playing Westminster close again in the second set at 11-10 Blue Jays before a Wanyonyi kill and Durbala service ace would begin the Blue Jay run that would allow them to control the rest of the frame. The third set was more back-and-forth than the first. It was knotted at 25, and then a Wanyonyi kill and Fontbonne ball-handling error ended the match.
Wanyonyi led with 18 kills while Erica Schrader led with 14 digs. Durbala paced the court again with 38 assists, giving her 1,052 career assists to end the weekend.
Westminster (7-9, 3-1 SLIAC) will take its five-game win streak back home for a 7 p.m. Tuesday match with Webster.