ST. LOUIS, MO. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team closed out its 2015 season on Saturday with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Drury. The Tritons won by set scores of 25-20, 25-21, 21-25, 23-25, 15-7 and conclude the year with a 16-16 record, including a 9-9 GLVC mark.
 
Prior to the contest, the Tritons honored their five seniors, playing one last collegiate game. They included Lindsay Meyer, Hannah Miller, Carly Ochs, Jessica Ploss and Erin Walker.
 
Ochs led the offense with a career-best 22 kills, while Ploss added 13 kills and seven blocks. Freshman Maddy Russell also tallied 13 digs and finished with a season-best 23 digs. Walker led the back row with 35 digs, her second straight 30-plus effort.
 
UMSL recorded season-bests of 118 digs and 14 blocks to help limit Drury (21-10, 11-7 GLVC) to .096 hitting. The Tritons hit at a .181 clip with Meyer dishing out 53 assists and recording 18 digs.
 
UMSL put up eight first-set blocks, including five from Ploss and four from Ochs, who also recorded six kills in the set.
 
The Tritons then hit .208 in the second set and scored four of the last five points to help garner the win. Walker recorded nine of her digs to help limit the Panthers offense to .083 hitting.
 
Drury bounced back to win sets three and four and force the decisive fifth set in which UMSL's four blocks helped force seven Panthers' attack errors. Drury scored the set's first two points, but a kill from Ploss gave UMSL a 4-3 lead it would not relinquish.
 
Ploss graduates the program as one of the best all-time blockers. Her 417 total blocks are third all-time, while she is the career leader in block assists (361). She also ranks seventh in career hitting percentage (.268). Meyer is third all-time in career assists (3,524) and fifth in career digs (1,275) and is the only player in program history with more than 3,000 career assists and 1,000 career digs, while Miller leaves ranking fifth in career block assists (263) and is eighth in career hitting percentage (.246).