The UMSL Tritons are 24-0 and ranked No. 3 in the country, heading into the penultimate weekend of the season. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Nora Nichols
Staff Writer
ST. LOUIS, MO — The No. 3-ranked University of Missouri-St. Louis women’s volleyball team hosts Illinois-Springfield and No. 20 Quincy in its final home matches of the regular season, this weekend at the Mark Twain Building.
The Tritons welcome the Prairie Stars on Friday for a 6 p.m. contest, then will play the Hawks on Saturday at 3 p.m., in a match that will likely decided the Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season championship.
UMSL will honor seniors Hailey Flowers, Kylie Adams, Mya Elliott, Karli Dean, Delaney Humm, Raina Forstrom and Lexie Rang prior to Saturday’s contest.
The Tritons, 24-0 overall and 9-0 in the GLVC, are currently tied with Quincy for the top spot in the GLVC standings and have a clinched a berth in the GLVC Tournament.
Last Time Out – UMSL extended its winning streak to 24 with a pair of road wins against Upper Iowa and Truman State last weekend. The Tritons defeated the Peacocks in straight sets last Friday and the Bulldogs in four sets on Saturday afternoon.
As a team, UMSL hit .288 over seven sets while averaging 15.29 kills per set. Humm led the offensive attack with 30 kills while Rang added 26 kills, Flowers finished with 19 kills and Elliott had 16 kills. Sophomore Caitlin Bishop averaged 11.7 assists per set, junior Trysta Foster served seven aces, Adams had 31 digs and Rang Flowers finished with four blocks apiece.
Award Winning – Bishop was named the GLVC’s Setter of the Week for the fourth straight week and sixth time in seven weeks this season. She tallied 82 assists, 19 digs, two kills and an ace across seven sets last weekend.
AVCA Poll – The Tritons remained third in this week’s AVCA/Taraflex Division II Top 25 poll. Wayne State (Neb.) and Tampa held down the top two spots for the second consecutive week.
About Illinois Springfield – The Prairie Stars enter Friday night’s match with a record of 9-13, 3-6 GLVC and are tied for ninth with Southwest Baptist. UIS is a match behind UIndy for the eighth and final spot in the GLVC Tournament (November 17-19).
The Prairie Stars went 1-1 last weekend defeating William Jewell in four sets last Friday and then lost to No. 24 Rockhurst 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.
Eirini Glynou leads the team in kills per set with 4.51 while Maria Spengler is contributing 2.88 kills per set to the attack. S Erica Sledge is averaging 9.13 assists per set, Marta Perez-Tapia leads the team with 24 aces. Ericka Snopko leads the squad with 58 blocks and Amanda McConnell has a team best 4.37 digs per set.
About Quincy – The Hawks enter Friday’s contest at McKendree having won 20 straight matches after going 2-0 last weekend. They defeated Rockhurst in five sets last Friday and then beat the Cardinals in straight sets on Saturday.
Emma Wjinbergen leads the team and the conference in kills per set with 4.64 while last year’s GLVC Freshman of the Year is adding 3.11 kills per set to the attack. Brianna Merkel is second in the league in assists per set with 11.29 per set. Wjinbergen also leads the squad with 30 aces. Pavan ranks near the top of the league in blocks per set with 1.13 while Susanna Berreti leads the team with 3.56 digs per set.
UMSL sports information contributed to this story.
2023 UMSL Tritons Women’s Volleyball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 3, 2023 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Home | Illinois Springfield | Mark Twain Building |
| November 4, 2023 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | #20 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 |
| GLVC STANDINGS | CONF | CPCT. | CONF. STREAK | OVERALL | PCT. | HOME | AWAY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri-St. Louis | 9-0 | 1.000 | W9 | 24-0 | 1.000 | 5-0 | 7-0 |
| Quincy | 9-0 | 1.000 | W9 | 23-1 | .958 | 7-0 | 6-0 |
| Lewis | 7-2 | .778 | L1 | 18-6 | .750 | 4-1 | 3-1 |
| Rockhurst | 7-3 | .700 | W1 | 19-5 | .792 | 8-1 | 7-3 |
| Maryville | 6-4 | .600 | W1 | 15-9 | .625 | 4-3 | 6-2 |
| Upper Iowa | 5-4 | .556 | W1 | 10-13 | .435 | 3-2 | 6-9 |
| Missouri S&T | 5-5 | .500 | W3 | 14-9 | .609 | 10-3 | 1-4 |
| Indianapolis | 4-5 | .444 | L3 | 15-9 | .625 | 6-2 | 2-5 |
| Southwest Baptist | 3-6 | .333 | W1 | 14-11 | .560 | 4-2 | 1-8 |
| Illinois Springfield | 3-6 | .333 | L1 | 9-13 | .409 | 4-4 | 0-5 |
| Truman State | 2-7 | .222 | L4 | 12-12 | .500 | 2-3 | 2-5 |
| Drury | 2-7 | .222 | L1 | 5-19 | .208 | 3-3 | 0-9 |
| William Jewell | 2-8 | .200 | L2 | 10-15 | .400 | 3-8 | 4-7 |
| McKendree | 1-8 | .111 | L1 | 11-12 | .478 | 2-6 | 1-4 |