AURORA, ILL. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team closed out play at the eighth annual Mizuno Midwest Region Crossover Tournament on Saturday with wins over Lake Erie (3-1) and Ursuline (3-0).
 
The Tritons up their ledger to 10-12 with the victories and return to action Friday, hosting William Jewell at 7 p.m. in GLVC play.
 
UMSL 3, Lake Erie 1 (25-12, 23-25, 25-12, 25-20)
Sophomore Gina Pezze recorded 16 kills, 12 digs and four service aces, while the Tritons hit .331 as a team and recorded 12 service aces. Freshman Maddy Russell also reached double digits in kills with 13, while senior Lindsay Meyer dished out 30 assists. Junior Lexi Rogers added eight kills, three aces and three blocks.  
 
UMSL hit .483 in the first set to open the match and was led by Pezze's five kills, while senior Hannah Miller registered a kill in four of her five attempts.
 
The Tritons recorded five of their aces in the third set, including three from Pezze who also had five kills in six swings, while Russell tallied six kills in the fourth set.
 
Defensively, freshman Alivia Brinker tallied 19 digs in the match.
 
UMSL 3, Ursuline 0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-19)
Junior Samantha Lewis recorded a career-high nine kills and added seven digs and three blocks as UMSL owned a 12-3 blocking advantage, limiting Ursuline to .154 hitting.
 
Senior Jessica Ploss led the Tritons with nine blocks and added six kills. UMSL attacked at a .262 clip and was directed by sophomore Madyson Abeyta's 14 assists. Abeyta also served up three aces.
 
The Tritons attacked at a .262 clip and defensively got 16 digs from freshman Olivia Gillum.
 
UMSL hit .364 in the middle set and scored the final four points, ending the frame on a 7-2 run.
 
The Tritons scored four straight to turn a 7-6 lead into an 11-6 advantage in the third set with Ploss accounting for two kills and a block during that stretch.