Williamsville, Ill. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team nearly came back from an 0-2 deficit but its comeback came up short as it fell to Rockhurst 3-2 on Friday evening in the semifinal round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament at Williamsville Fieldhouse in Williamsville, Ill. The Tritons are 20-8 while the Hawks are 22-7.
UMSL, seeded third, trailed 13-12 in the opening set but couldn't overcome a 12-4 run as Rockhurst, seeded second, took the opening stanza 25-16. The Tritons hit only .100 in the frame and were led by
Alayna Santel with four kills while
Bridget Cassady added three more.
UMSL scored the first point of the second set but that would be its only lead as the Hawks seized control with a 9-2 run and led by as many as 10 in the frame. The Tritons made a late run to get within seven but it wouldn't be enough as Rockhurst won 25-17. UMSL was held to .083 hitting percentage in the set and as led by Santel and Cassady with three kills each.
The Tritons got their offense going in set three hitting .556 with 17 kills against two errors in 27 swings as it led by as many as 13 points on their way to a 25-13 victory to extend the match.
Brooklyn Young hit .833 in the set with five kills in six swings with Santel and Cassady adding four kills apiece.
UMSL carried that momentum into set four as it hit .621 with 19 kills against one error in 29 attempts on its way to a 25-16 victory force a fifth and deciding set. Santel hit .857 and Cassady hit .600 in the stanza while
Maggie Johnson added four kills.
The deciding set went back-and-forth early. The Tritons led 4-3 but an 8-2 run by Rockhurst gave them the momentum as it led 11-6. UMSL wouldn't get closer than four the rest of the match as the Hawks scored the final four points to win 15-7.
The Tritons finished the contest with a .258 hitting percentage with 61 kills against 20 errors in 159 swings and were led by Santel with a match-high 18 kills while Cassady added 16 kills. Johnson and Young contributed 12 and 11 kills respectively.
Marly Burbach had 56 assists,
Mady Gant finished with four blocks and
Skylar Weaver had 20 digs.
Rockhurst hit .329 for the match with 66 kills against 16 errors in 152 attempts and were led by Victoria Gray with 15 kills while Delaney Hope added 13 more kills and eight blocks. Alyssa McDonald and Avery DeLong had 12 and 11 kills respectively. Molly Trachta had 25 assists and Bailey Donnelly had a match-high 21 digs.
UMSL will find out if it receives an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament during the NCAA Selection Show this Sunday (Nov. 15) at 9 p.m. (CST) on ncaa.com.
