Williamsville, Ill. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team began its quest for a second straight Great Lakes Valley Conference title with a sweep of Lewis on Thursday night at Williamsville Fieldhouse in Williamsville, Ill. The Tritons improve to 20-7 while the Flyers end their season with a record of 15-14.
UMSL, seeded third, fell behind 2-0 to start the match before going on a 13-4 run to take a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Lewis, seeded sixth, cut the deficit to 15-11 but wouldn't get any closer as the Tritons closed the set on a 10-3 run to win the opener 25-14.
UMSL hit .400 in the opening stanza with 14 kills against four errors in 25 attempts and was led by
Maggie Johnson with six kills while
Alayna Santel added three more and
Addison Voorhees and
Mady Gant had two kills apiece.
The Tritons opened the middle frame on a 4-1 run but the Flyers made an adjustment on their block as nine of UMSL's 12 attack errors in the set were a result of the Lewis block. The Tritons trailed 24-20 in the set but fought off four straight set points to tie it at 24. The two sides exchanged the next 14 points and were tied at 31 after a kill from Sarah Newberry.
UMSL got a kill from
Bridget Cassady to retake the lead and then an attack error by Newberry gave the Tritons a 33-31 victory. UMSL had 22 kills in the frame and were led by Johnson and Santel with seven kills apiece.
The final set saw 18 ties and nine lead changes. It was tied at 15 when the Flyers ran off three straight points to take an 18-15 lead but the Tritons rallied with four straight to grab a 19-18 lead. The two sides continued to trade points and were tied at 22 after a kill from Ann-Kelly Velikov.
Lewis had a chance to extend the match leading 24-23 and had a chance to serve it out but a service error by Elena Gubera tied it. UMSL took advantage of the error getting a kill from
Brooklyn Young to set up match point. The Flyers couldn't extend it as an attack error by Kyra Marciniak gave the Tritons the 26-24 victory.
UMSL hit .298 in the contest with 51 kills against 17 errors in 114 attempts and was led by Johnson with a match-high 18 kills while Santel added 16 more.
Marly Burbach had a match-high 43 assists, Gant finished with four blocks and
Skylar Weaver had 17 digs.
Lewis was held to a .175 attack percentage with 41 kills against 19 errors in 126 swings and were led by Marciniak and Velikov with nine kills each. Grace Malek had 17 assists and eight digs and Newberry recorded six blocks.
The Tritons take on second seeded Rockhurst in the semifinal round of the GLVC Tournament on Friday (Nov. 13) at 5:30 p.m. at Williamsville Fieldhouse in Williamsville, Ill.
