BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The No. 25 University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team battled but fell to top ranked Ferris State in straight sets on Thursday afternoon in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at Bulldog Arena in Big Rapids, Mich.
The Tritons, seeded eighth, went back and forth with the top seeded Bulldogs (32-0) in the opening set and led 13-10 after an ace serve from
Caitlin Bishop but FSU countered with six straight to seize a 16-13 lead after an attack error by
Addison Voorhees.
UMSL kept fighting and rallied to take a 19-18 lead after a kill from Bishop but couldn't sustain the momentum as the Bulldogs scored six of the next seven points to grab a 24-20 lead after a kill from Claire Nowicki. The Tritons fought off the first set point with a kill from Voorhees but a kill from Gabby Piazza gave Ferris State the opening set 25-21.
UMSL found itself in a 7-2 hole to start the middle frame before coming back to take the lead at 8-7 on a kill by
Alayna Santel. The two sides traded points and were still tied at 12 after a kill from Piazza. The Bulldogs retook the lead after Syann Fairfield and Olivia Henneman-Dallape blocked
Hannah Copeland. The Tritons appeared to even things at 13 on a kill from Voorhees but Ferris State challenged the call and it was overturned resulting in a point for the Bulldogs. UMSL trailed by four and wouldn't get closer than three points the rest of the stanza as Ferris State took it 25-19.
The final frame was all Bulldogs as they hit .294 with 12 kills against two errors while holding UMSL to a negative .147 attack percentage with four kills against nine errors in 34 swings. FSU led by as many as 13 points in the final set.
The Tritons hit .020 for the match with 25 kills against 23 errors in 102 attempts and were led by Santel with seven kills while
Maggie Johnson added five kills. Bishop finished with 21 assists and
Skylar Weaver added 12 digs.
The Bulldogs hit .347 for the contest with 40 kills against seven errors in 95 chances and were led by Henneman-Dallape with 11 kills while Piazza added eight kills. Kaylee Maat had 27 assists, Chelsie Freeman finished with six blocks and Leah Bylut had 15 digs.
UMSL finishes its season with a record of 19-9 including 8-5 in the GLVC and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive year and eighth team overall.
