The UMSL Tritons are now 26-0 and own sole possession of first place in the GLVC standings. (Photo: Thomas Grove)

NCAA Women’s Volleyball – Nov. 3, 2023	1	2	3	Final
UIS (9-14, 3-7)	18	23	15	(0)
#3 UMSL (25-0, 10-0)	25	25	25	(3)

NCAA Women’s Volleyball – Nov. 4, 2023	1	2	3	Final
#20 Quincy (23-3, 9-2)	16	17	23	(0)
#3 UMSL (25-0, 10-0)	25	25	25	(3)

Nora Nichols
Staff Writer

NORMANDY, MO — The No. 3-ranked University of Missouri-St. Louis women’s volleyball team closed out the home portion of its regular season schedule this weekend by winning matches against Illinois-Springfield and Quincy. And by doing so, UMSL clinched itself at least a share of the 2023 Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season championship.

The two victories raised UMSL’s overall record to 26-0 and improved its conference record to 11-0. Quincy, which came into the weekend tied with UMSL with a 9-0 league mark, lost both its games over the weekend and is now 9-2 in conference play. And with just two games left in the regular season, the best the Hawks could do is tie UMSL, but that’s only if it won its final two games and UMSL lost both its finals two games.

The Tritons need to win just one of its final two to claim the outright league title. UMSL will play at Drury and Southwest Baptist next weekend. No matter what happens next week, the Tritons will be the No. 1 seed in the GLVC Tournament, which will begin in two weeks (November 17) in Williamsville, Ill.

#3 UMSL 3 Illinois-Springfield 0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-15)
On Friday against UIS, got off to a slow start falling behind 5-1 before going on a 6-1 run to take its first lead of the match after an attack error by Maria Spengler. The two sides traded points and were tied at nine when UMSL pulled away thanks to a 14-7 run building a seven-point lead after a kill from fifth-year senior Mya Elliott. The Prairie Stars (9-14, 3-7 GLVC) got another kill from Spengler to get within 24-18 but wouldn’t get any closer as fifth-year senior Lexie Rang ended the frame with a kill.

UMSL fell behind 3-1 to start the middle set and still trailed 7-5 before going on a 9-4 run to build a 14-11 lead after an error by Spengler.

The Tritons still trailed by three when they countered with five straight points getting kills from Delaney Humm, Rang, and fifth-year senior Hailey Flowers and a service ace from sophomore Rylee Edson. The Prairie Stars kept fighting closing to within 24-23 after Ericka Snopko blocked Elliott to stave off the first set point. They wouldn’t stave off another though as Elliott blocked Spengler go give UMSL the 25-23 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Tritons jumped out to a three-point lead in the final stanza and wouldn’t look back. They were ahead 15-8 midway through the set and led by as many as 10 at 24-14 after a kill from Humm. UIS fought off the first match point as Eirini Glynou had a kill but a service error by Marta Perez-Tapia ended the match.

UMSL hit .315 in the contest with 48 kills against 13 errors in 111 chances and was led by Humm and Elliott with 13 kills apiece while Rang added 10 and Flowers finished with seven. Sophomore Caitlin Bishop had 46 assists, Rang finished with two aces and four blocks, while senior Kylie Adams had 15 digs.

#3 UMSL 3 #20 Quincy 0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-23)
On Saturday against Quincy, the Tritons dominated from start to finish. They never trailed at any point of either of the first two sets and the only deficit it faced all days was when the Hawks won the first point of the third set.

UMSL answered by winning the next two points to take the lead. Then it won nine of the next 13 points to take an 11-5 lead and full control of the final set.

Humm led the way with 13 kills. Rang had 12 and Elliott had 10. Bishop had 39 assists and Adams had a match-high 13 digs.

Up Next: UMSL will play Drury on Friday at 6 p.m., and then Southwest Baptist on Saturday at 1 p.m.

2023 UMSL Tritons Women’s Volleyball Schedule

Date	Time	At	Opponent	Location
November 10, 2023 (Friday)	6 p.m.	Away	Drury	Springfield, Mo.
November 11, 2023 (Saturday)	1 p.m.	Away	Southwest Baptist	Bolivar, Mo.
November 17-19, 2023	TBA	Neutral	GLVC Tournament	Williamsville, Ill.