The UMSL Tritons celebrate Friday night’s victory over Lewis. (Photo: Cedric Williams)
| NCAA Volleyball | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis (11-6, 4-1) | 25 | 9 | 22 | 21 | (1) |
| #12 UMSL (12-2, 3-1) | 18 | 25 | 25 | 25 | (3) |
NORMANDY, MO — Things didn’t start off well for the University of Missouri-St. Louis women’s volleyball team on Friday night.
The Tritons lost the first set to rival Lewis University, 25-18.
But after regrouping, the No. 12-ranked team in the country got going and UMSL won the next three sets to claim a three sets to one victory at the Mark Twain Building over the visiting Flyers.
The victory improved UMSL’s record to 12-2 overall and 3-1 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play, while Lewis fell to 11-6 and 4-1.
UMSL freshman Alayna Santel had a match-high 21 kills in the Tritons’ win on Friday. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Lewis came out hot to begin the match hitting .700 in the early portion as it jumped out to an 11-4 lead. UMSL wouldn’t get closer than six points the rest of the stanza as the Flyers took the opener 25-18.
Lewis held an early 4-1 advantage in the second stanza but the Tritons rallied scoring 13 of the next 16 points to grab a 14-7 lead after a service from Rylee Edson. Iyannah Jackson had three kills in that run.
The Flyers pulled to within 15-9 after a kill from Mallory Januski but that was as close as it got as UMSL ran off the final 10 points to win it 25-9 and even the match at a set apiece. The Tritons hit nearly 30 percent in the stanza while holding Lewis to a negative .057 attack percentage.
The swing set went back-and-forth with 11 ties and six lead changes. UMSL pulled ahead late in the frame thanks to 6-3 and were up 22-19 after a kill from Alayna Santel. Lewis wouldn’t go without a fight pulling to within 23-22 but the Tritons were able to close it out thanks to a kill from Santel and an attack error from Natalie Stefanski to win 25-22 and take the 2-1 lead into set four.
The Flyers led for a majority of set four and were up 19-15 after three straight points before UMSL rallied. The Tritons scored three of the next four points to pull within 20-18 after an error from Januski. Stefanski answered with a kill to make it 21-18 but UMSL ran off the final seven points of the match to complete the comeback. Brooklyn Young and Hannah Copeland each had two kills and a block in that set deciding run.
The Tritons finished the match hitting .276 with 62 kills against 15 errors in 170 attempts and were led by Santel who matched her career-high with 21 kills. Addison Voorhees and Young added 13 and 12 kills respectively. Caitlin Bishop dished out a match-high 53 assists, Copeland finished with three blocks and Skylar Weaver had a career-high 28 digs. It is Weaver’s fifth straight match with at least 20 digs.
Lewis hit .200 for the contest recording 51 kills against 19 errors in 160 chances and were led by Bella Ray with 14 kills and Stefanski had 10 kills. Rachel Kaczorowski had 24 assists, Hannah Alvey added two blocks and Ally Hickey finished with 24 digs.
The Tritons conclude their brief two-game homestand on Saturday hosting UIndy at 3 p.m. The Greyhounds fell at McKendree 3-2 on Friday evening.
With a win, UMSL can take over sole possession of second place in the GLVC standings.
UMSL sports information contributed to this story.
2024 UMSL TRITONS WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | Site | Opponent | Location | Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 12, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Indianapolis | Mark Twain Building | |
| October 18, 2024 (Friday) | TBD | Neutral | Midwest Region Crossover | 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 |