HAMMOND, Ind. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team defeated Wayne State (Mich.) 3-1 in its final match at the 2025 Midwest Regional Crossover at the Hammond Sportsplex in Hammond, Ind. The Tritons improve to 16-4 while the Warriors drop to 14-4.

UMSL led by as many as seven in the opening set at 17-10 after Alayna Santel and Iyannah Jackson blocked Paige Giehtbrock. The Tritons still led 20-13 before WSU went on a run to cut the margin to three at 24-21 but wouldn't get any closer as a kill from Bridget Cassady gave UMSL the 25-21 set victory.

The Tritons hit .317 in the stanza with 18 kills and were led by Santel with six while Cassady and Maggie Johnson added five each.

UMSL led 6-2 to start the second stanza but the Warriors countered with a 13-7 run and led 15-13 after a kill from Kayla Giroux. The Tritons punched back thanks to an 8-3 run that gave them a 21-18 lead. Jackson had two kills in that run while Santel had a kill and an ace. Wayne State pulled to within 21-19 but UMSL scored the final four points of the frame to win 25-19.

The Warriors came out firing offensively in the third set as they built a 17-10 lead. The Tritons took their second timeout of the set trailing and then went on an 11-2 run to grab a 21-19 lead. Rylee Edson had a run from the service line serving seven straight points.

UMSL was unable to close out the stanza as WSU scored six of the final eight points to win 25-23 and force a fourth set.

The Tritons trailed 13-8 midway through the deciding fourth set but went on an 11-3 run to grab a 19-16 advantage after a kill from Cassady. The Warriors fought back to within 21-20 but couldn't overtake UMSL as the Tritons scored four of the final six points to win 25-22.

UMSL hit .273 in the contest with 62 kills against 21 errors in 150 attempts. Santel finished with a match-high 21 kills and was joined in double figures by Johnson with 16 and Cassady added 13. Cassady and Jackson had four blocks apiece, Caitlin Bishop had 49 assists and 13 digs and Skylar Weaver had a match-high 27 digs.

Wayne State hit .253 for the match with 59 kills against 21 errors in 150 swings. Giroux led the Warriors with 19 kills while Giehtbrock added 14 and Katerina Stout finished with 11 kills. Giroux also added six blocks. Kayla Dulgar had 49 assists and Kendyl Andrews finished with 15 digs.

The Tritons begin the second half of Great Lakes Valley Conference play at home on Friday (Oct. 24) hosting Missouri S&T at 6 p.m. at the Mark Twain Building.