The UMSL Tritons have won four in a row and are 13-2 on the season. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
Nora Nichols
Staff Writer
The No. 11 University of Missouri-St. Louis women’s volleyball team will take a break from Great Lakes Valley Conference action this weekend to participate in the 16th annual Midwest Region Crossover at the Hammond Sportsplex in Hammond, Ind.
UMSL will play two matches on Friday and a third on Saturday. The Friday matches will be against Wayne State University (Mich.) from the GLIAC at 9 a.m., and Ashland University from the G-MAC at 2 p.m. Saturday’s opponent will be determined by the results of Friday’s matches.
About the Event – The Midwest Region Volleyball Crossover, the nation’s largest collegiate volleyball tournament, will be held at the Hammond Sportsplex and Community Center as well as the campus of Purdue Northwest in Hammond, Ind., on October 18-19. The event will pit 14 GLVC volleyball teams against 13 schools from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) and the 11 institutions from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
How to Watch – JEDtv will be providing streaming coverage for every court at this year’s Crossover. An all-tournament pass is $40 which allows you access to every match in the tournament while single game passes are $20. Fans can watch the games on their smartphones with the JEDtv app or on their TVs via Roku or Amazon Fire TV.
Last Time Out – UMSL extended its winning streak to four and its home winning streak to 23 with a 3-1 win over UIndy last Saturday at the Mark Twain Building. The Tritons were led by Hannah Copeland who finished with a career-high 18 kills in the contest while Skylar Weaver added a career-high 29 digs.
About Wayne State – The Warriors enter the Crossover this weekend with a record of 7-8 overall but are 5-3 in GLIAC play. Since starting the season 2-5 they have won five of their last eight matches overall. This past weekend WSU went 1-1 falling to Purdue Northwest in four sets last Friday but rebounded on Saturday with a sweep at Parkside.
Molly Miller and Kayla Giroux lead the Warrior attack averaging 3.62 and 3.40 kills per set respectively. Kayla Dulgar is the team’s primary setter and is averaging 9.38 assists per set while Giroux and Kendyl Andrews are the leaders on the defensive side of the ball. Giroux leads the team with 1.19 blocks per set and Andrews is averaging 3.44 digs per set.
About Ashland – The Eagles enter Friday’s contest with a record of 12-4 including 6-1 in G-MAC play. They’ve won five straight with four of those matches decided in straight sets. Ashland swept Ursuline and Walsh last weekend.
GraceAnn Hartman and Sara Krizsa lead the Eagle offensive with 3.55 and 3.11 kills per set respectively. Kylee Urban is the team’s primary setter with 9.64 assists per set. Defensively, Ashland is led by Ravin Morgan with her 1.02 blocks per set while Abby Queen is averaging 5.61 digs per set which is 12th in Division II.
UMSL sports information contributed to this story.
2024 UMSL TRITONS WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | Site | Opponent | Location | Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 18, 2024 (Friday) | 9 a.m. | Neutral | vs. Wayne State | Hammond, Ind. / Hammond Sportsplex | MIDWEST REGIONAL VOLLEYBALL CROSSOVER |
| October 18, 2024 (Friday) | 2 p.m. | Neutral | vs. Ashland | Hammond, Ind. / Hammond Sportsplex | MIDWEST REGIONAL VOLLEYBALL CROSSOVER |
| October 19, 2024 (Saturday) | TBD | Neutral | Midwest Region Crossover | Hammond, Ind. / Hammond Sportsplex | MIDWEST REGIONAL VOLLEYBALL CROSSOVER |
| October 25, 2024 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Maryville | Chesterfield, Mo. / Moloney Arena | |
| October 26, 2024 (Saturday) | 5 p.m. | Away | Missouri S&T | Rolla, Mo. / Gibson Arena | |
| November 1, 2024 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Home | Truman State | Mark Twain Building | |
| November 2, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Upper Iowa | Mark Twain Building | |
| November 8, 2024 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Quincy | Quincy, Ill. / Pepsi Arena | |
| November 9, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Illinois Springfield | Springfield, Ill. / TRAC | |
| November 15, 2024 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Home | Southwest Baptist | Mark Twain Building | |
| November 16, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Drury | Mark Twain Building | |
| November 22, 2024 (Friday) | TBD | Neutral | GLVC Tournament | TBD | GLVC Tournament |
| December 5, 2024 (Thursday) | TBD | Neutral | NCAA Midwest Regional | TBD | NCAA Midwest Regional |
| December 12, 2024 (Thursday) | TBD | Neutral | NCAA Championships | Sioux Falls, S.D. / Sanford Pentagon | NCAA Championships |