ST. LOUIS – The University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team split its final two matches at the McKendree Invitational on Saturday in Lebanon, Ill. UMSL won its first match of the day in straight sets over Southwestern Oklahoma State but dropped its final match to Minnesota Duluth in straight sets.

Match 1 – UMSL 3 Southwestern Oklahoma State 0
The Tritons (3-1) jumped out to a fast start against the Bulldogs (1-3) racing out to a 6-1 lead. SWOSU ran off nine out of 10 points to take a 13-12 lead after a kill from Katja Blanchat. UMSL responded with three straight points to retake the lead but it was short lived as the Bulldogs scored eight of the next 12 points to take a 21-19 lead courtesy of a Paris Patterson kill.

The Tritons cut the margin to 23-22 but it was SWOSU getting to set point first. UMSL fought off two straight points to tie it at 24 on a kill from Brooklyn Young. The Bulldogs retook the lead but Alayna Santel kept the Tritons alive with a kill to level it at 25. SWOSU again retook the lead but couldn't close it out as UMSL scored the final three points to take the opening set 28-26.

The middle frame was tied at 14 when the Tritons went on an 11-2 run to build its largest lead of the match at 23-16 after a bad set from Cameron Turner. The Bulldogs quieted the run momentarily but UMSL got back-to-back kills from Young and Maggie Johnson to win set two 25-17.

The Tritons fell behind by four points to start the third stanza but rallied thanks to a 10-4 run to take a two-point lead. SWOSU wouldn't go down without a fight going on an 8-4 run to retake the lead at 16-14. UMSL evened the set at 16 after back-to-back kills from Young.

It remained tight as the two sides traded the next eight points and were tied at 20. The Tritons had the final say scoring the final five points of the frame to complete the sweep.
UMSL hit .220 for the match with 49 kills against 21 errors in 127 attempts. Young had a match-high 13 kills while Johnson and Iyannah Jackson had 10 apiece. Caitlin Bishop finished with 41 assists, Hannah Copeland added four blocks and Skylar Weaver had a match-high 16 digs.

Match 2 – Minnesota Duluth 3 UMSL 0
The Tritons led 14-13 midway through the opening stanza but the Bulldogs (4-0) seized control of the frame with an 8-2 run. UMD took the set 25-19.

UMSL had a 5-2 lead early in the middle stanza but like set one the Bulldogs came back to take a 14-9 lead. The Tritons cut the deficit to 14-12 but UMD wouldn't relinquish the lead outscoring UMSL 11-7 the remainder of the stanza to win it 25-19.

The Bulldogs led wire-to-wire in the final set though the Tritons made runs but it wouldn't be enough as UMD took the final stanza 25-19 to complete the sweep.

UMSL was held to a .225 hitting percentage with 34 kills against 14 errors in 89 attempts in the finale. Copeland and Santel led the way with nine kills each. Bishop handed out 34 assists and Weaver finished with 16 digs.

The Tritons are back in action next weekend (Sept. 12-13) competing at the University of Nebraska-Kearney's Rosella Meier Fall Classic. UMSL will take on South Dakota School of Mines next Friday at 2 p.m. at the UNK Health and Sports Center.