After sweeping three matches at the Midwest Region Crossover last weekend, the UMSL Tritons are 20-0. (Photo courtesy: UMSL Athletics)
Nora Nichols
Staff Writer
NORMANDY, MO — After dominating its way through another perfect weekend at the Midwest Region Crossover last week, the University of Missouri-St. Louis women’s volleyball team returns home this weekend for a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference matches.
The Tritons will be at the Mark Twain Building on Friday and Saturday to take on in-state foes, Missouri S&T and Maryville.
UMSL’s match against S&T will be on Friday at 6 p.m., with the Saturday match against Maryville set for 3 p.m.
Last Time Out – UMSL extended is winning streak to 20 with three sweeps at the Midwest Region Crossover in Hammond, Ind., last weekend. The Tritons swept Tiffin and Davenport in their first two matches on Friday then defeated 17th ranked Ferris State in straight sets in their lone match on Saturday. Delaney Humm and Caitlin Bishop were named to the All-Tournament Team.
INCYMI – Bishop won her fourth GLVC Setter of the Week award of the season on Monday. She directed an offense that averaged 15.33 kills and hit .324 over nine sets last weekend. Bishop tallied 113 assists (12.56 per set) while adding 20 digs, four kills, two aces and two blocks. She had 43 assists with four digs and three kills against Tiffin.
AVCA Polls – The Tritons continue to hold the fourth spot in this week’s AVCA/Taraflex Division II Top 25 poll. They are one of four GLVC teams ranked this week. Lewis checked in at number 14 while Quincy is 24th and Rockhurst is 25th. The GLVC has the second most teams of any conference ranked in this week’s poll trailing only the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, which has five teams in this week’s rankings.
Home Court Advantage – UMSL has won 12 straight matches at the Mark Twain Building dating back to the start of last season when it was defeated by S&T in its season opener in straight sets. Since the start of the 2019 campaign, the Tritons are 34-3 on their home court.
About Missouri S&T – The Miners went 2-1 last weekend at the Crossover defeating Cedarville and Northern Michigan to improve to 11-8 on the season as they head into the second half of their conference schedule. S&T is 2-4 in the GLVC heading into Friday night’s contest.
The Miners have been paced along the front line by a trio of players as Madelyn Mason leads the team with 254 kills and Jordan Burton is a close second with 226. Shelby Ply has 178 kills and leads S&T with 69 blocks, two more than Mason, while recording a .345 attack percentage.
Alina Carrillo has 130 kills and a team-leading 27 service aces, as well as being one of three Miners with at least 200 digs on the year with 213. Mia Alessio has 238 to lead S&T and Meiko Pearson has 216, while Annie Arand has a team-leading 425 assists.
About Maryville – The Saints enter Friday night’s contest at McKendree with a record of 13-7 including 4-2 in the GLVC and are in a three-way tie with Rockhurst and UIndy for fourth in the conference standings. Maryville went 1-2 last weekend at the Crossover losing to Hillsdale and Michigan Tech before ending the weekend with a win against Purdue Northwest.
The Saints have been paced on the front line this season by Ella Brinkman and Caroline Glastetter with 3.21 and 2.22 kills per set respectively. Brinkman has recorded 244 kills, Glastetter is second with 151 and Makenna Brauman isn’t far behind with 135. Hanna Dressing leads the team with 46 blocks.
Taylor Hasbrook leads the GLVC in digs with 418 and digs per set at 5.43. Abbie Schnell and Rachel Schipper have 438 and 351 assists respectively.
Up Next – The Tritons will be back out on the road next weekend. They’ll play at Upper Iowa next Friday, and Truman State next Saturday.
UMSL sports information contributed to this story.
2023 UMSL Tritons Women’s Volleyball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |