TOPEKA, KAN. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team opened the final day of play at the Washburn Invitational on Saturday with a 3-2 win over Emporia State, but came out on the short end of another five-set match later in the day against the No. 16 ranked hosts in the tournament's final match.
 
Junior Alex Miner averaged 2.80 kills and 1.70 blocks per set for the Tritons, while hitting .468.
 
UMSL 3, Emporia State 2 (27-29, 25-17, 25-19, 29-31, 15-7)
Records: UMSL (3-0), Emporia State (0-3)
 
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Miner recorded 13 kills, while hitting at a .632 clip (one error in 19 attempts) and recorded seven blocks.
- Sophomore Selena Nolte led the team with 14 kills, while redshirt sophomore Maddy Russell added 13 kills.
- Senior Madyson Abeyta recorded 34 assists, while freshman Payton Kennelly added 21 assists and tallied five service aces.
- Senior Danielle Waedekin led the backline with 20 digs.
- UMSL hit .196, while Emporia State hit .137 and held a 15-10 advantage in blocks.
- Emporia State committed 14 service errors, while UMSL had 13, but the Tritons tallied nine aces to the Hornets' three.
- UMSL hit .571 in the fifth set victory, while Emporia State had just two kills in that frame.
 
#16 Washburn 3, UMSL 2 (25-21, 17-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-12)
Records: Washburn (3-1), UMSL (3-1)
 
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
- UMSL jumped out to a quick 9-3 lead in the first set, recording five kills on its first nine swings. However, Washburn rallied to tie at 17-17 before taking a 24-18 lead.
- A 5-0 run, which included two kills from Russell, gave UMSL 12-8 lead, forcing a Washburn timeout. After the Icabods tied it at 14-14, another five straight from the Tritons made it 19-14. Miner and sophomore Kylie Rudsinski teamed up for back-to-back blocks, while Waedekin had a service ace.
- The third set featured nine ties and three lead changes before back-to-back kills from sophomore Morgan Childers helped UMSL to a 20-16 lead.
- Washburn scored the final three points of the match to break a 12-12 tie after UMSL had scored three straight to knot it up.  
 
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Miner recorded a double-double with 15 kills and 10 blocks and hit at a .357 clip.
- Rudsinski followed with 11 kills and five blocks, while Childers added nine kills to go with a career-high 19 digs.
- Abeyta (30) and Kennelly (21) combined for 51 of UMSL's 56 assists, while the Tritons hit .126 to Washburns's .080.
- Waedekin also had 19 digs and added three service aces.
- UMSL had 10 service errors and four aces, while the Icabods recorded six errors and seven aces.
 
UP NEXT
UMSL travels to Florida next weekend, playing two in Miami on Friday against Barry and Lynn and two in Palm Beach, Fla., against No. 10 Augustana and No. 6 Palm Beach Atlantic.