ST. LOUIS – The eighth ranked University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team returns to the court this weekend as it travels to St. Augustine, Fla., for four matches at the Flagler Saints Classic. All four matches will be held at Clark Family Court inside the Flagler Gymnasium.
Last Time Out – The Tritons opened their season going 4-0 last weekend at Trevecca Nazarene's Ray Thrasher Classic. UMSL opened with a sweep of the host Trojans then defeated Lynn in four sets in a top 25 contest. On Saturday, the Tritons swept Alabama-Huntsville in their first match of the day and then beat Carson-Newman in four sets.
Lexie Rang led the attack for UMSL finishing the weekend with an average of 4.50 kills per set.
Delaney Humm,
Hailey Flowers and
Mya Elliott each had 27 kills.
Caitlin Bishop averaged 10.29 assists per set while
Kylie Adams averaged 4.14 digs per set and
Hannah Copeland had 12 total blocks.
AVCA Poll – UMSL moved up two spots in this week's AVCA/Taraflex Division II Coaches Poll. It's the team's highest ranking in the national poll.
Milestones – Adams is closing in a career milestone as she is 40 digs shy of 1,000 for her career. She recorded 58 digs in the four matches last weekend. Adams had a season-high 22 digs in the four-set win over Carson-Newman on Saturday afternoon.
About Embry-Riddle – The Eagles enter this weekend's action with a 3-1 record after hosting the Bahama House Labor Day Classic in Daytona Beach last weekend. ERU opened its season with a five-set win over Emmanuel (Ga.), then defeated Augusta 3-1 and swept Drury in its first match on Saturday. In their final match of the weekend the Eagles fell to No. 20 Wingate in straight sets.
Jaden McBride and Isabella Rujano led the Embry-Riddle attack with 3.27 and 2.93 kills per set respectively. Grace Dantil is the primary setter for the Eagles as she averaged 6.8 assists per set in the four matches. Dana Gibbons and Kailey Hrbek had a hand in 31 of the team's 65 total blocks while Tamzen Wilson averaged 4.47 digs per set.
About Flagler – The Saints opened their season going 0-3 last weekend at the Florida Southern Volleyball Classic. Flagler dropped its season opener in five sets to No. 17 Washburn, then dropped a four-set contest to 12th ranked Barry and lost in five sets to the host Moccasins.
Jordan Berglin led the Saints in kills last weekend with 44, Lainee Mack handed out a total of 69 set assists, Molly Boyd finished with 19 blocks and Edie Lamoreaux had a total of 66 digs.
About Converse – The Valkyries enter play this weekend with a record of 0-3 after getting swept in all three matches at the Lenoir-Rhyne Tournament. Converse opened its season with a loss to USC Aiken and then was defeated by the host Bears and lost to Valdosta State in its final match of the weekend.
Tia Gripado led the Valkyrie attack with 17 kills while Ariel Bryant added 15 kills and Evelyn Fitz and Tori Barr had 12 kills each. Madison Gregory and MacKenzie Schmucker averaged 3.33 and 3.29 assists per set respectively. On the defensive side, Barr led the way with five total blocks, Gripado added four blocks and Schmucker and Alayah Robertson had three blocks each. Gripado and Mackenzie Day averaged 4.00 and 3.78 digs per set.
About Missouri Southern – The Lions opened their 2023 season going 4-0 at the Missouri Southern Invite. They opened the season with a sweep of Cameron and then defeated Northwestern Oklahoma in four sets in its final match on Friday. On Saturday, MSSU swept Southern Arkansas and Southwest Baptist.
Fernanda Carpenter leads the Lion attack with 3.77 kills per set while Kyra Thomas is contributing 3.08 per set. Hannah Allick and Landrey VanOverschelde have split time at the setter position with Allick averaging 6.83 assists per set and VanOverschelde is averaging 5.33 per set. Amelia Neels led the team in blocks with 12 last weekend while Tori Hamilton led the way on the back line with 5.15 digs per set.
Up Next – The Tritons wrap up their 12-match road trip to begin the season next weekend as it heads to McKendree for four matches.
