ST. LOUIS, MO. – For the second time this week, the University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team rallied from a two-set deficit to knock off a GLVC-leading team, defeating Illinois Springfield, 3-2, on Senior Day.
Prior to the match seniors
Madyson Abeyta,
Gina Pezze, Kayla Shane, Kara Roggemann, Kristen Uradzionek and
Danielle Waedekin were all honored.
The Tritons end the regular season with a five-match win streak and as winners of 11 of their last 12 contests. UMSL also picked up win number 22 on the year, the most for the program since the 2008 team finished 23-8.
The Tritons now turn their attention to the GLVC Tournament, which begins Friday in East Peoria, Ill. UMSL, the No. 6 seed, will open tournament play against No. 3 seed Rockhurst at 11:30 a.m.
UMSL 3, UIS 2 (22-25, 19-25, 25-11, 26-24, 15-13)
Records: UMSL (22-7, 12-6 GLVC), Illinois Springfield (21-10, 12-6 GLVC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After dropping the first two sets, UMSL jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third and never looked back, hitting .455 in the frame.
- The Prairie Stars built a 14-9 lead in the fourth and took a 20-16 lead before UMSL reeled off three straight. UIS answered with three points for a 23-19 lead, but the Tritons followed with five straight, including three consecutive kills from sophomore
Kylie Rudsinski. The Prairie Stars fended off set point once, but UMSL got kills from junior
Alex Miner and redshirt sophomore
Maddy Russell to force the fifth set.
- UMSL scored four of the final five points in the deciding frame, rallying from an 11-8 deficit. Sophomore
Selena Nolte tallied three of her five kills in that frame during that stretch, while senior
Gina Pezze and junior
Alivia Brinker each had a service ace.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Nolte finished with a team-high 16 kills, while Miner and Rudsinski followed with 14 and 11, respectively.
- Roggemann added a career-high 10 kills to go with seven blocks as UMSL held a 14-8 advantage in that category. Miner also put up seven blocks.
- Abeyta recorded 46 assists and 18 digs – her fifth straight double-double.
- Waedekin tallied 22 digs.
- UMSL hit .174, while Illinois Springfield hit .142.
