By: Aaron Moody - Blackburn Sports Information

As black rally towels waved in a sea of red, the Blackburn College Women’s Volleyball Team looked to give the home crowd their first win of the season.  The Beavers were taking on St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Principia College in their home opener.  In the first set, Blackburn got into a rhythm when Amanda Miller put together four straight service points to take the lead at 13-12.  But after that point the team struggled to maintain consistency and eventually lost 25-18.

The second set Blackburn fell behind early but fought back to narrow the deficit to 9-8. However Principia put the game out of reach in a matter of minutes as they rallied and reeled off twelve straight service points.  Down by 13 the Beavers struggled to bounce back and dropped the second set 25-11.

In the third set, the Beavers came out in attack mode. The competition went back and forth until the Beavers grabbed the lead and held on to it for the majority of the set.  However, Principia rallied and managed to tie the game up at 21 apiece.  Blackburn called a timeout in hopes to regroup, but Principia proved to be too much with four straight service points to win the set and the match.

For Blackburn, Amanda Miller produced seven kills and six digs. Allie Matt had six kills and seven digs of her own as well.  With this loss, the Beavers now sit with a record of 0-6 and 0-3 in SLIAC play.  The next game for Blackburn will be Saturday when they face Webster University and Fontbonne University in a tri-match.  Match one against Webster is set for 10:00 am.