HAMMOND, Ind. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball went 2-0 on Friday defeating Hillsdale 3-1 and Davenport 3-0 in the Midwest Region Crossover at the Hammond Sportsplex in Hammond, Ind. The Tritons improve to 15-4 on the season.
Match 1 – UMSL 3 Hillsdale 1
UMSL got off to a slow start in its first match of the day as the Chargers (6-8) led by as many as seven in the opening stanza. The Tritons closed the gap to 24-22 after a service error by Jenna Southland but wouldn't get any closer as Hillsdale got a kill from Caroline Lanicek to win the opener 25-22.
UMSL couldn't slow down the Charger attack as they hit .275 in the stanza and were led by Adi Sysum with five kills in seven swings. Grace Drake added four kills in eight attempts.
The Tritons jumped out to an early lead in the second set and wouldn't look back as they led by as many as 12 at 21-9 after a kill from
Bridget Cassady. UMSL's defense found a way to slow down Hillsdale's offense in the second frame holding it to a .086 hitting percentage.
The Tritons trailed 2-0 to start the swing set before going on a 9-1 run to grab a 9-3 lead. That lead grew to as many as nine at 17-8 after a kill from
Maggie Johnson. The Chargers didn't go quietly rallying to within 24-21 after an attack error by
Hannah Copeland but a kill from Johnson gave UMSL the 25-21 victory.
Johnson and
Alayna Santel had five kills each in the set.
The final frame was the closest of the match with 13 ties and four lead changes. The Tritons trailed 18-14 after an attack error by Cassady before going on an 8-3 run to retake the lead at 22-21 on ace serve from
Rylee Edson. Hillsdale tied it at 22 on a kill from Lanicek but wouldn't retake the lead as UMSL got back-to-back kills from Santel to reach match point and then Cassady sealed the win with her ninth kill of the contest.
The Tritons hit .241 for the match with 61 kills against 23 errors in 158 attempts and were led by Santel with a match-high 18 kills while Johnson added 16 and Cassady and Copeland had nine kills each.
Caitlin Bishop handed out 50 assists,
Skylar Weaver had a match-high 20 digs and
Iyannah Jackson added five total blocks.
Match 2 – UMSL 3 Davenport 0
UMSL had its hands full with the Panthers (10-8) in its second match of the day. The Tritons trailed 13-12 in the opening frame before a 12-0 run gave them control at 24-13. Davenport scored three straight points to make it 24-16 but wouldn't get any closer as Santel terminated a ball for the 25-16 victory.
The middle stanza was tied at 15 when UMSL took control outscoring the Panthers 10-2 the rest of the way for the 25-17 victory. Cassady and Johnson had three kills each in the frame while Jackson and Copeland added two kills apiece.
The Tritons hit .364 in the final frame pulling away for the 25-18 win. Santel led the way with five kills in the stanza while Jackson and Copeland added three kills apiece.
UMSL hit .330 for the match with 44 kills against 11 errors in 100 attempts. Cassady finished with a match-high 11 kills while Jackson and Santel had nine kills apiece. Jackson and Santel had three blocks each, Bishop finished with 36 assists and Santel added 11 digs.
The Tritons play their final match of the Midwest Region Crossover on Saturday against Wayne State (Mich.) at 2 p.m. at the Hammond Sportsplex.
