The Westminster College volleyball squad raised more than $3,300 dollars for the Side Out Campaign and Head Coach Kristen Ely coached the entire evening in a pink bridesmaid’s dress in front of a crowd of over 300, but it was not enough to dispatch the Principia College Panthers. Principia won the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match 25-16, 25-16, 25-15 Tuesday in Westminster Gym.

The Blue Jays (2-18, 1-10 SLIAC) hit just .080 and committed five service errors and 13 serve reception errors in falling to Principia (16-7, 9-1 SLIAC), the conference’s second best team. Kathryn Leetch finished with six kills to lead Westminster and Meredith Gibbons added five kills, Erin Rustemeyer contributed 10 assists and Elizabeth Jansen led the defense with nine digs.

Note: The Side Out Campaign is a national initiative to raise awareness and money for cancer research. The Westminster fundraising goal was $3,000, and because the team met that goal, Coach Ely wore the pink dress throughout the evening.

Blue Jay Volleyball Squad Involved In Dig Pink Campaign

For the second year in a row, the Westminster College volleyball squad is participating in the Dig Pink Campaign to help raise awareness about breast cancer and raise money to fund cancer research.

Westminster head volleyball coach Kristen Ely has set her team’s 2008 fund-raising goal at $3,000. And, if that goal is reached, she will coach the Tuesday, October 7, home match with Principia College in a puffy, bright pink bridesmaid dress.

October is breast cancer awareness month, and volleyball teams from around the country are participating in a variety of fund-raising and awareness events. For additional information or to make a donation, please click here.

Westminster Drops Road Match To Conference Leader

The Westminster College Blue Jays dropped a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference volleyball match to league-leading Webster University Tuesday in St. Louis. Webster (12-2, 8-0 SLIAC) won the match 25-8, 25-12, 25-17.

The Blue Jays (2-15, 1-9 SLIAC) recorded just 10 kills in the match with Meredith Gibbons and Lisa Priaulx finishing with three each. Erin Rustemeyer and Priaulx each finished with four assists, and Kathryn Leetch led the team with 11 digs.

Westminster hosts Central Methodist University and William Woods University in a non-conference triangular Saturday beginning at 12:00 noon.

Blue Jays Split SLIAC Pair And Snap Streak In The Process

The Westminster College Blue Jay volleyball squad dropped a five-set St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference marathon match to Maryville University at home Saturday in Westminster Gym, but camp back in its second match of the day to grab a win over MacMurray College.
 
After jumping out to a 2-1 lead over Maryville, Westminster came up short. Maryville (6-12, 5-2 SLIAC) took the match 25-23, 23-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-11. Lisa Priaulx recorded nine kills to lead the Blue Jays. Meredith Gibbons added eight kills and five blocks, Erin Rustemeyer finished with 15 assists, and Shanna Crafts tallied 29 digs.
 
The Blue Jays (2-14, 1-8 SLIAC) snapped a ten-match losing streak and picked up their first conference win of the season with a 25-18, 26-24, 21-25, 25-21 victory over MacMurray (0-9, 0-5 SLIAC). Priaulx finished with 12 kills, Sarah Kirchoff added 11 kills, Rustemeyer contributed 23 assists and Crafts recorded 54 digs.

Athletic Events Highlight Of Westminster Family Weekend

The Westminster College campus will be abuzz at the end of the week because of Family Weekend. And many of the activities are Blue Jay intercollegiate athletic events.

The weekend activities begin at 3:30 p.m. Friday with the intrasquad tennis scrimmage. At 7:00 p.m. Friday, the Family Weekend Pep Rally, sponsored by the Westminster Cheerleaders, will be held at Latshaw Plaza.

Four Westminster athletic teams compete in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action Saturday, including the volleyball, football, women’s soccer and men’s soccer squads (see schedule below).

2008 Westminster College Family
Weekend Athletic Schedule

Fri., Sept. 26
Tennis Intrasquad Scrimmage, Home, 3:30
Family Weekend Pep Rally, Latshaw Plaza, 7:00
Sat., Sept. 27
* Volleyball vs. Maryville, Home, 10:30
* Football vs. Eureka, Home, 1:00
* Volleyball vs. MacMurray, Home, 2:30
* Women’s Soccer vs. Blackburn, Home, 5:00
* Men’s Soccer vs. Blackburn, Home, 7:00
* SLIAC Contests

Blue Jays Come Up Short In Rematch with Greenville

For the second time in four days the Westminster College Blue Jay volleyball squad dropped a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match to Greenville College.
 
This past Saturday, Greenville topped the Blue Jays 25-15, 25-12, 25-17 in Eureka, Illinois. Tuesday night in Greenville, Illinois, Greenville (8-6, 3-2 SLIAC) downed Westminster 25-20, 25-18, 25-20. Tuesday's loss was the ninth in a row for Westminster, dropping its record to 1-13 overall and 0-7 in SLIAC play.
 
Elizabeth Jansen paced the Blue Jay offense on Tuesday, finishing with seven kills. Erin Rustemeyer contributed 12 assists and two service aces, while Shanna Crafts recorded 21 digs.

Weekend Trip To Illinois Not Overly Productive For WC

A weekend trip to Illinois did not turn out as expected for the Westminster College volleyball squad. The Blue Jays dropped three conference matches to fall to 1-12 overall and 0-6 in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.
 
The Blue Jays opened play Friday night at Eureka College. After dropping the first two sets, 20-25, 20-25, Westminster captured set three 25-23, before dropping the fourth set 21-25, and the match. Elizabeth Jansen recorded 11 kills, Erin Rustemeyer contributed 29 assists and three service aces, and Danielle Bazan recorded 20 digs. However, the Blue Jays committed nine service errors and 13 reception errors.
 
Westminster and Eureka met again Saturday morning, but Eureka (2-15, 2-1 SLIAC) swept the Blue Jays 25-13, 25-19, 25-17 in just over an hour. Meredith Gibbons finished with six kills, Rustemeyer finished with 15 assists and Jessica Lawson contributed 18 digs.
 
The Blue Jays met Greenville College (7-6, 2-2 SLIAC) Saturday afternoon in Eureka, Illinois. Westminster fell in three sets 15-25, 12-25, 17-25 to a Greenville squad which hit .326.

Blue Jays Fall In Conference Opener On Home Court

After winning the first set, the Westminster College volleyball squad dropped three straight sets and its St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener Tuesday at home. Blackburn College won the match 23-25, 25-23, 25-18 and 25-19.

The Blue Jays (1-7, 0-1 SLIAC) committed 25 attack errors, six serving errors and 13 block errors against a Blackburn squad (3-3, 1-0 SLIAC) they topped twice last year. Meredith Gibbons led the offense with eight kills and Erin Rustemeyer finished with 24 assists. Elizabeth Jansen and Shanna Crafts tallied 25 and 24 digs, respectively.

Westminster Hosts Blackburn In SLIAC Opener Tuesday

Westminster College hosts Blackburn College in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference volleyball opener for both teams at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday in Westminster Gym.

Tuesday’s match gives the Blue Jays (1-6) the opportunity to snap a two-match losing streak and begin the 16-match league schedule on a positive note. Westminster and Blackburn have split their last four conference matches, but the Blue Jays topped the Beavers twice in 2007.

In Saturday’s two non-conference losses, the Westminster offense recorded just 43 kills in six sets. The Blue Jays recorded 20 kills in a 25-7, 25-17, 25-19 loss to Hannibal-LaGrange College, with Sarah Kirchoff and Lisa Priaulx each finishing with five kills each. In a 25-21, 25-19, 25-18 loss to Robert Morris College-Springfield, the team totaled 23 kills, with Kirchoff and Kathryn Leetch each recording seven kills.

Blue Jays Capture First Victory Of The Season With A Sweep

Elizabeth Jansen recorded eight kills in leading the Westminster College volleyball squad to a 25-23, 25-15, 25-23 victory over Stephens College Wednesday in Fulton. It was the first win of the season for the Blue Jays (1-4).

Katie Morfeld, Kathryn Leetch and Meredith Gibbons each finished with six kills, Erin Rustemeyer tallied 22 assists, and Shanna Crafts recorded 14 digs for a Westminster squad which hosts Hannibal-LaGrange and Robert Morris-Springfield Saturday beginning at 10:00 in the morning.

Westminster Women Go 0-4 On Opening Weekend 

The Westminster College volleyball squad opened the season with four losses in the Illinois College Tournament this past weekend in Jacksonville, Illinois.
 
On Saturday, the Blue Jays (0-4) lost to Bethany Lutheran 25-13, 25-13, 25-22, and host Illinois College 25-17, 25-18, 25-17. Westminster dropped two matches on Sunday, falling to the University of Dubuque 25-16, 25-12, 16-25, 25-13, and Iowa Wesleyan 25-13, 25-21, 25-16.

Westminster hosts Stephens College at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday in its home opener.

Volleyball Blue Jays Seventh In 2008 SLIAC Preseason Poll

Westminster College is picked seventh in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Volleyball Poll, as voted on by conference coaches. The Blue Jays finished 8-23 overall last year and eighth in the league standings at 5-13, but nine players return with experience and a group of newcomers should help the team improve in 2008.

Defending conference champion Webster University received six first-place votes and is picked to repeat followed by 2. Principia College (2 first-place votes); 3. Maryville University (1 first-place vote); 4. Greenville College; 5. Fontbonne University; 6. Eureka College; 7. Westminster; 8. Blackburn College; and 9. MacMurray College.

Preseason Practice Begins This Week At Westminster College

The 2008-09 Westminster College athletic season gets underway this week when student-athletes from four intercollegiate teams report for preseason practice.

Football players are the first to report, arriving on campus Thursday, August 14. Following orthopedic physicals and dinner, the team will meet for its first practice at 6:30 p.m. Thursday evening. The Blue Jays host The University of the South in their home and season opener at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, September 6.

The members of the Westminster volleyball squad arrive for preseason practice on Sunday, August 17. The Blue Jays open the season at the Illinois College Tournament on August 30 and 31 in Jacksonville, Illinois.

Soccer players on both the men's and women's squads arrive on Sunday, August 17. The Westminster men open the season against Birmingham Southern on August 29 in Birmingham, Alabama. The Blue Jay women open on the road at Wisconsin Lutheran on September 2 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.