TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 17 University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team dropped its first two matches in the Tampa Volleyball Classic on Friday afternoon. The Tritons dropped their opener to Oklahoma Baptist 3-2 and their second match to Francis Marion 3-0.
Match 1: Oklahoma Baptist 3 No. 17 UMSL 2
UMSL (2-3) struggled from the service line in the opening set as the Bison (6-1) recorded seven aces while the Tritons added four service errors as OBU won the opener 25-16. UMSL led 12-11 after a kill from
Bridget Cassady but couldn't overcome an 11-0 run in the stanza.
The Tritons rallied in the second set hitting .400 with 14 kills against two errors in 30 attempts as Cassady and
Alayna Santel had four kills each in the frame. UMSL led by as many seven points and was able to hold off a late rally to even the match at a set apiece.
The Tritons built a six-point lead in the swing set but OBU went on a 10-4 run to even things at 23 after a kill by Mackenzie Frazee. Cassady gave UMSL the lead right back to set up set point. The Bison fought it off getting a kill from Bella Chittum to tie it at 24 but the Tritons scored three of the final four points to win the frame 27-25.
Oklahoma Baptist held a five-point lead in set four but it was UMSL's turn to rally as it led 22-19 after a kill from
Maggie Johnson. The Bison ran off four straight points to take a 23-22 lead after a kill from Frazee. Johnson recorded another kill to even things at 23. An attack error by Rylee Unruh set up the Tritons with match point but couldn't close it out as three straight attack errors gave the set to OBU.
In the final set UMSL trailed 3-1 before going on a 6-1 run to take a 7-4 lead after an ace from Santel. The Tritons got to 10 points first but couldn't close it out as the Bison finished the match on a 6-1 run to win 15-11 to complete the comeback.
UMSL hit .235 in the contest with 61 kills but committed 25 errors in 153 attempts and was led by Santel with a match-high 18 kills. Johnson added a season-high 17 and Cassady finished with 16 kills.
Marly Burbach had 46 assists and 12 digs while
Skylar Weaver finished with 17 digs.
OBU hit .278 for the match with 55 kills against 18 errors in 133 attempts and were led by Unruh with 14 kills while Chittum and Frazee finished with 11 kills each. Emily Boyer had 34 assists and Unruh added 13 digs.
Match 2: Francis Marion 3 No. 17 UMSL 0
After a short break, the Tritons came right back to take on the Patriots (3-2). UMSL couldn't get its offense going in the opening set as it was held to a negative .032 hitting percentage and had five service errors as it dropped the opener 25-16.
The Tritons led 18-14 in the middle stanza but couldn't close it as Francis Marion finished the frame on an 11-5 run to win it 25-23.
UMSL trailed by as many as seven points in set three and wouldn't get closer than five points the rest of the way as the Patriots won it 25-19.
The Tritons hit .160 in the contest with 32 kills against 15 errors in 106 attempts and was led by Santel with 13 kills while Cassady added eight kills. Burbach finished with 20 assists while Weaver recorded 11 digs.
Francis Marion had a .182 attack percentage with 37 kills against 17 errors in 110 attempts. Camryn Faggart led the Patriots with 13 kills while Aubrey Johnson had 26 assists and Alyssa Whiteside finished with 15 digs.
UMSL has two more matches in the Tampa Volleyball Classic on Saturday taking on Florida Southern at 12:30 p.m. (CDT) and the fourth ranked Tampa Spartans at 6:30 p.m. (CDT). Both matches are at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center.
