The UMSL Tritons are now 19-0 on the season and will play for the championship on Saturday. (Photo courtesy: UMSL Athletics)
| Midwest Region Crossover | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiffin (10-9) | 15 | 11 | 20 | (0) |
| #4 UMSL (18-0) | 25 | 25 | 25 | (3) |
| Midwest Region Crossover | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davenport (8-10) | 14 | 13 | 15 | (0) |
| #4 UMSL (19-0) | 25 | 25 | 25 | (3) |
Nora Nichols
Staff Writer
HAMMOND, IN — The No. 4-ranked and unbeaten University of Missouri-St. Louis women’s volleyball team extended its seasons-long winning to 19 games on Friday, by sweeping a pair of matches at Day 1 of the Midwest Region Crossover at the Hammond SportsPlex.
UMSL played Tiffin (11-9) and Davenport (8-11) in its two matches and swept both three sets to none. The two victories earned the Tritons the No. 1 seed in the Great Lakes Valley Conference portion of the bracket and set UMSL up to play for the event championship on Saturday.
No. 4 UMSL 3 Tiffin 0
UMSL gave up the first point of the match against the Dragons but responded with a 6-1 run and wouldn’t trail the remainder of the stanza as they defeated Tiffin 25-15 in the opening frame. The Tritons hit .281 in the set while holding the Dragons to a .0069 attack percentage.
UMSL jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the second stanza and wouldn’t look back as it cruised to a 25-11 victory to take the commanding 2-0 lead in the contest.
Tiffin wouldn’t go quietly in set three as they jumped out to an early three-point lead but the Tritons responded to take a 17-9 lead after an ace serve from Kylie Adams. The Dragons made a late run closing to within 24-20 after a kill from Taylor Peterson but wouldn’t get any closer as Delaney Humm ended the match with a kill.
UMSL hit .351 for the match with 49 kills against 15 errors in 97 chances. Lexie Rang had a match-high 13 kills while Humm finished with 10 and Mya Elliott added nine. Caitlin Bishop handed out 43 assists, Rang added three blocks, Adams finished with 11 digs and Rylee Edson had two service aces.
No. 4 UMSL 3 Davenport 0
In their second match of the day the Tritons raced out to an 11-4 lead and wouldn’t let the Panthers get closer than six points the rest of the frame on its way to the 25-14 victory.
UMSL built a 10-point lead midway through the middle frame and led by as many as 13 points at 22-9 after an error by Emma Turnquist. Davenport got to within 22-13 but no closer as the Tritons scored the final three points of the set to win it 25-13.
UMSL led 11-9 in the final frame before pulling away for the 25-15 victory to complete the sweep.
The Tritons hit .357 with 44 kills against nine errors while holding the Panthers to a .010 attack percentage.
Humm finished with a match-high 13 hills while Elliott and Hailey Flowers added nine kills each. Bishop had 34 assists to go along with a pair of aces while Elliott had three blocks and Adams finished with a match-high 19 digs.
UMSL will conclude its weekend by playing the No. 1 seed from the GLIAC bracket, No. 19-ranked Ferris State, in a rematch of last year’s Midwest Region Crossover championship. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Tritons will be home at the Mark Twain Building next weekend, for a pair of GLVC matches against Missouri S&T and Maryville. UMSL will play S&T on Friday, October 20, at 6 p.m. And they will play Maryville on Saturday, October 21, at 3 p.m.
UMSL sports information contributed to this story.
2023 UMSL Tritons Women’s Volleyball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 14, 2023 (Saturday) | 2 p.m. | Neutral | #19 Ferris State | Hammond, Ind. / Hammond Sportsplex |
| October 20, 2023 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Home | Missouri S&T | Mark Twain Building |
| October 21, 2023 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Maryville | Mark Twain Building |
| October 27, 2023 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Upper Iowa | Fayette, Iowa / Dorman Memorial Gymnasium |
| October 28, 2023 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Truman State | Kirksville, Mo. / Pershing Arena |
| November 3, 2023 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Home | Illinois Springfield | Mark Twain Building |
| November 4, 2023 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Quincy | Mark Twain Building |
| November 10, 2023 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Drury | Springfield, Mo. / O’Reilly Family Events Center |
| November 11, 2023 (Saturday) | 1 p.m. | Away | Southwest Baptist | Bolivar, Mo. / John Q. Hammons Court |
| November 17-19, 2023 | TBA | Neutral | GLVC Tournament | Williamsville, Ill./Williamsville High School Fieldhouse |