LEBANON, ILL. – Sophomore Jory Siebenmorgen recorded a career-high 21 kills and added 13 digs and six blocks, but it wasn't enough to help the University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team to a win as the Tritons suffered a 3-2 loss at McKendree on Wednesday night in a non-conference contest. The Bearcats won by set scores of 22-25, 25-16, 23-25, 25-20, 15-13.
 
UMSL slips to 15-10 overall, while McKendree improves to 17-11 overall with the key regional win. In the first two NCAA DII Midwest Regional rankings, the Tritons have been ranked eighth and Bearcats ninth.
 
McKendree tallied 75 kills, receiving a match-high 30 kills from freshman Arela Williams, and hit .265. UMSL tallied 56 kills and hit .217.
 
Senior Haley Brightwell and junior Carly Ochs added 10 kills each, while junior Lindsay Meyer registered 48 assists and 17 digs.
 
Siebenmorgen tallied six of her kills in the opening set and the Tritons hit .261 to overcome three McKendree service aces.
 
McKendree staged an early 6-2 lead in the second set with Arela Williams tallying three of her kills. The Tritons pulled within 14-13 before four unanswered by the Bearcats extended their advantage to 18-14.
 
A string of five unanswered points by UMSL turned a 10-9 deficit into a 14-10 lead early in the third set with Siebenmorgen tallying two kills during that stretch. The Bearcats later tied it at 17-17 before taking a 19-18 lead. The set then saw four ties and three lead changes before Siebenmorgen put down a kill to record UMSL's final two points.
 
McKendree jumped out to a 13-7 lead in the fourth set, including scoring four straight twice. A kill from junior Carly Ochs ended the run, but another spurt by the Bearcats put the home team ahead 21-14 en route to the win.
 
After a McKendree service error gave the Tritons a 10-9 lead in the fifth set, the Bearcats scored four straight for the 12-10 lead. UMSL rallied to knot it at 13-13, but McKendree scored the final two points on a kill and a service ace to win the match. The Bearcats finished with seven service aces.
 
UMSL recorded a season-high 13.5 blocks with junior Hannah Miller tallying a career-best eight.
 
UMSL will wrap up regular season play by resuming GLVC play at Quincy and Truman State, Friday and Saturday, respectively.