ST. LOUIS – Lexie Rang recorded a career-high 18 kills to lead the University of Missouri-St. Louis Volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-11, 21-25, 25-7, 25-16) win over Saint Leo on Saturday afternoon at the Mark Twain Building. The Tritons improve to 3-1 on the season while the Lions drop to 2-2.
UMSL got off to a slow start as it fell behind by three early but responded in a big way thanks to a 13-3 run to turn the early deficit into a seven-point lead. Saint Leo wouldn't get closer than six points the remainder of the set as the Tritons cruised to the 25-11 victory. Rang paced the offense with six kills in the stanza while
Charlotte Richards added three and
Hailey Flowers had two.
The middle frame went back-and-forth with 12 ties and one lead change. The stanza was tied at 19 when the Lions scored five of the next six points to take a 24-20 lead. The Tritons got one of those points on a kill from Rang but couldn't complete the comeback as Ally-Reese Williams recorded a kill to give Saint Leo the 25-21 win.
UMSL dominated the swing set as it opened with an 8-0 run and didn't let the Lions get closer than seven the remainder of the frame as it hit .556 with 15 kills against zero errors in 27 chances. Rang had five of those kills while Richards and Flowers had four kills apiece.
The Tritons opened the final set with a 7-2 run but Saint Leo answered with a 6-1 run to even the frame at 8. UMSL regained control thanks to a 10-3 run behind three kills and an ace from Richards, two aces from
Rylee Edson, a kill from
Hannah Copeland and a block from Rang and
Mya Elliott.
The Tritons finished the match with a .456 hitting percentage with 55 kills against eight errors in 103 chances. Rang was joined in double figures by Richards and Flowers with 13 kills apiece.
Caitlin Bishop had a double-double with 41 assists and 10 digs while
Kylie Adams had a match-high 21 digs. Rang was UMSL's representative on the All-Tournament team.
The Lions were held to a .161 attack percentage with 38 kills against 19 errors in 118 swings. Williams led Saint Leo with 11 kills while Niamh Davies and Colby Stempowski had eight kills apiece. Skylar Singleton had 28 assists and Jeanette Henderson finished with 12 digs.
The Tritons return to the court next Friday (Sept. 2) as they travel to Indianapolis to play Minnesota Duluth in the first of four at the UIndy Invitational at the Ruth Lilly Fitness Center at 8 a.m. (CDT).
