ST. LOUIS, MO. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team limited visiting Bellarmine to .096 hitting en route to defeating the Knights, 3-1, in the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener Thursday night.
 
Bellarmine entered the match attacking at a .259 clip, but UMSL used an 11-6 blocking advantage to help hand the Knights their first loss.
 
UMSL 3, Bellarmine 1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 25-22)
Records: UMSL (8-1, 1-0 GLVC), Bellarmine (8-1, 0-1 GLVC)
 
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
- UMSL ended the first set on a 12-6 run, erasing a 16-13 deficit. The Tritons scored five straight points during that stretch and hit .224 in the frame.
- UMSL overcame .020 hitting in the third set by outblocking Bellarmine, 4-1, forcing the Knights into 11 hitting errors. A string of four unanswered points by UMSL gave the home team a 21-14 lead, but Bellarmine answered with four straight of their own and fended off two set points before a kill from junior Alex Miner gave UMSL a 2-1 lead in the match.
- UMSL built a 13-5 lead in the fourth set, but four straight from the Knights, including three on Triton attack errors closed the gap to 13-9. Bellarmine got within one five times, including 23-22, but a kill from sophomore Selena Nolte and a block from fellow sophomores Kylie Rudsinski and Amanda Vollmer ended the set.
 
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Redshirt sophomore Maddy Russell recorded a team-high 14 kills, which included a combined 10 in the first two sets.
- Rudsinski added 12 kills and six blocks, while Miner finished with 10 kills and five blocks.
- Sophomore Selena Nolte added 10 kills and four blocks.
- Senior Madyson Abeyta dished out 25 assists and recorded nine digs, while freshman Payton Kennelly added 17 assists and 12 digs.
- Senior Danielle Waedekin and sophomore Morgan Childers had 19 digs each.
 
QUOTING HEAD COACH RYAN YOUNG
"Bellarmine is a good defensive team and challenged our hitters but we stepped it up tonight. I'm really happy with our kids' fight. Our offensive diversity has been key for us all season. We have different people stepping up each night which makes it hard for teams to defend us."
 
TRITON NOTABLE
UMSL has won six straight GLVC openers.
 
UP NEXT
UMSL continues GLVC play on Saturday with a trip across town to Maryville at 3 p.m.