Women’s volleyball captures fourth straight SLIAC tournament championship; All-conference awarded presented

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The women's volleyball team took a four-set win over Webster on Saturday night to win the SLIAC tournament for the fourth straight season and fifth time overall as they received an automatic berth in the NCAA national tournament.

The Panthers came out on top of Webster by a 25-21, 25-17, 24-26, 26-24 final score.

The Panthers were led by tournament MVP Abby Freeman who had a double-double with 24 kills and 16 digs in the championship match. She also added a service ace.

Anna Finch posted 20 points in the title match with 17 kills, a solo block, and four block assists.

Allyson Grabowski led a group of five Panthers who reached double figures in digs, including two that surpassed 25 digs. Grabowski posted 31 digs, and Whitney Nichols had 27 digs.

MVP Freeman was joined by Finch and Emily Stahl on the All-Tournament team.

The Panthers qualified for the championship match with a three-set win over Principia in the second of the tournament's two semifinals. Greenville won by a 25-15, 25-21, 25-15 final score in just 65 minutes.

Freeman made her presence known with a dominating effort in which she hit at .462 with 21 kills and just three errors in 39 attempts.

Finch produced 11 kills and hit a rate of .526.

Grabowski added 16 digs as she led Greenville's defense.

The Panthers were led at the net by Whitney Nichols and Emily Stahl with a solo block.

Following the match, the Panthers were honored with three entries on the SLIAC first team. Freeman, Finch, and Abby Quirin received first team accolades.

Grabowski took third team honors, and Annie Jordan was Greenville's honoree o the SLIAC All-Sportsmanship team.

The Panthers also received a trophy as regular season champion, tying for the league championship with Webster. It was the Panthers eighth league championship in the last nine years.

The Panthers (23-10) will discover their NCAA tournament destination on Monday at 11:30 a.m.  The Panthers qualified for the tournament for the first time in 2010 and have been a perennial member of the tournament field since 2015.