Blackburn women's volleyball lost a conference match to the visiting Golden Eagles of Spalding University on Sunday, February 28th. The match went to five sets, with the Golden Eagles winning the last three. The score of the sets are listed below.

Set 1: Blackburn 25, Spalding 20

Set 2: Blackburn 25, Spalding 15

Set 3: Blackburn 11, Spalding 25

Set 4: Blackburn 21, Spalding 25

Set 5: Blackburn 8, Spalding 15

Lucy Magnussen set the tone early for the Beavers. She led Blackburn offensively, totaling twelve kills with 30 attacks in the game. She also earned two solo blocks in the game, as well as a block assist. Kasey Bean was right behind Magnussen with seven kills, and 31 attacks. 

Autumn Wilson led Blackburn with 22 assists. Sabrina Kelsey followed clsoe behind with 15 of her own. Defensively, Amanda Swedberg stood out for the Beavers. She racked up 27 digs, as well as 30 service receptions. Karlee Herman finished the game with 25 service receptions, as well as eleven digs.

After two sets, Blackburn led Spalding 2-0. Gabby Ellis switched with Sarah Richards at the libero position going into the third set. Richards totaled 17 digs, and 23 service receptions. Ellis had 24 digs, and 20 service receptions. 

Spalding was led by Maggie Purichia, who tallied 17 kills, and 49 attacks. Hannah Holland finished with twelve kills, and Cassie Jones obtained ten kills of her own.

In the beginning of the fifth set, a service error by Spalding gave Blackburn a 1-0 lead. Emilie King then served for Blackburn, and was able to obtain three straight service aces against Spalding, giving the Beavers a 4-0 lead. However, after a timeout by Spalding, the Beavers committed several errors, which allowed Spalding to score four straight points, tying the game.

Spalding was up 7-5 in the fifth set when Blackburn called their first timeout. However, Spalding proved to have the advantage, as they stretched their lead to 10-6, causing Blackburn to call their second timeout. The Golden Eagles continued to rack up points, eventually giving them a 14-8 lead due to a ball handling error by Blackburn. Holland then secured the win for Blackburn on a kill that was set up from Mya Summers. Summers finished the game with 46 assists for Spalding, with 144 total attempts. 

As a team, Blackburn had 43 kills, 174 attacks, 41 assists, twelve service aces, and 90 digs. Spalding finished with 50 kills, 174 attacks, 48 assists, ten service aces, and 92 digs.

As a result of this game, Blackburn moves to an overall record of 3-3 in the SLIAC. Their next matchup will be against Westminster College. The game will take place on Tuesday, March 2nd. Blackburn will host Westminster for the SLIAC matchup at Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois. The game is set to start at 7:00 p.m.