SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team opened Great Lakes Valley Conference play with a sweep of Drury on Friday evening at the O'Reilly Family Events Center in Springfield, Mo. The Tritons improve to 8-4, 1-0 GLVC while the Panthers fall to 7-5, 0-1 GLVC.

UMSL dominated the opening set hitting .343 with 14 kills against two errors in 35 attempts while holding Drury to a -.065 hitting percentage. The Tritons led 7-5 before pulling away thanks to a 13-4 run that saw them lead by as many as 12 in the stanza.

Alayna Santel led the way with five kills in the set while Hannah Copeland added four.

UMSL never trailed in the second set as it again pulled away scoring eight of the final 10 points of the frame to take it 25-16. The Tritons hit .560 in the middle frame and were led by Bridget Cassady who hit .857 with six kills against zero errors in seven attempts.

UMSL trailed early in the third stanza before seizing control as they closed the match on a 9-3 run to win the set 25-15 and complete the sweep. Santel and Maggie Johnson had four kills each in the final frame.

The Tritons hit .337 in the contest with 43 kills against a season-low nine errors in 101 attempts. It was led by Santel with 14 kills while Johnson and Cassady added eight kills apiece. Caitlin Bishop had a match-high 29 assists and Skylar Weaver had a match-high 13 digs. Bishop, Santel and Iyannah Jackson had two aces apiece in the match.

The Panthers were held to a .051 hitting percentage with 25 kills against 20 errors in 98 chances. Chaney Barth led Drury with seven kills while Ella Rademaker added six kills. Jacy Bray had 13 assists and Kim Quinit added 10 digs.

UMSL is back in action on Saturday as they head north on Highway 13 to take on Southwest Baptist at 3 p.m. in Bolivar, Mo.