UMSL junior Caitlin Bishop is third in the nation with 369 total assists. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
DENVER, CO — The No. 4-ranked University of Missouri-St. Louis women’s volleyball team enjoyed another successful weekend of play at Colorado Premiere Challenge, hosted by Regis University.
UMSL won three of its four matches over the weekend and won the Bronze Bracket.
On Friday, the Tritons defeated No. 9 West Texas A&M in a five-set thriller, then lost three sets to one to Regis. Then on Saturday, UMSL defeated Seattle Pacific and Wheeling (both three sets to one) to take home third place in the event.
No. 4 UMSL 3, No. 9 West Texas A&M 2
UMSL dropped a hard-fought opening set to the Lady Buffs (4-2) 25-23 but came back to win the next two sets 25-16 and 25-21. The Tritons led 17-14 midway through the fourth set but West Texas A&M scored eight of the next 11 points to grab a 22-20 lead. UMSL fought back to within one but was unable to tie the set as the Lady Buffs held on for the 25-23 victory to force a decisive fifth set.
In the final frame the Tritons raced out to a 5-1 lead but WTA&M countered with a 4-1 run of its own to pull within 6-5. UMSL answered scoring seven of the next nine points to extend its lead to 13-7 on a kill from Maggie Johnson. The Lady Buffs got back-to-back points pull within four but a Caitlin Bishop kill gave the Tritons five match points.
West Texas A&M scored four straight points to pull within 14-13 before a kill from Alayna Santel gave UMSL the 15-13 victory.
The Tritons hit .173 in the contest with 60 kills against 29 errors in 179 attempts. Santel led three players in double figures with 16 kills. Johnson added 14 kills and Brooklyn Young finished with 10 kills. Bishop handed out 55 assists and Skylar Weaver had a career-high 22 digs.
The Lady Buffs also hit .173 for the match recording 58 kills against 28 errors in 173 swings. Emma Becker had a match-high 16 kills while Camy Jones and Currie Marusak had 14 and 10 kills respectively. Blair Moreland had 19 assists and Bryli Contreras had a match-high 33 digs.
No. 24 Regis 3, No. 4 UMSL 1
In the nightcap the Rangers (2-4) hit .381 in the first two sets to win by scores of 25-22 and 25-21. UMSL fought back in set three winning 25-21 to extend the match hitting .205 in the stanza while holding Regis to a .184 hitting percentage.
In the final set the Tritons held a 14-13 lead but a 6-1 run by the Rangers was too much to overcome. UMSL fought off three match points to pull within 24-23 but couldn’t get over the hump as Halle Theis ended the match with her 12th kill of the contest.
The Tritons hit .192 in the contest with 52 kills against 23 errors in 151 attempts. Santel led UMSL with 14 kills while Hannah Copeland added 12 and Young finished with 10 kills. Bishop had 45 assists and 11 digs while Weaver finished with 12 digs.
The Triton defense couldn’t slow down Regis’ attack as it hit .321 with 57 kills against 15 errors in 131 chances. Bryn McNair finished with a match-high 18 kills and Theis and Amelia Davis had 12 kills apiece. Reagan Hickey had a match-high 55 assists and Bre Skala recoded 18 digs.
After winning the conference regular season championship last year, No. 4 UMSL was the picked to finish second in the GLVC this season. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
UMSL 3, Seattle Pacific 1
In its semifinal match, UMSL and Seattle Pacific split the first two sets by identical 25-18 scores. The swing set was the tightest of the match with 11 ties and seven lead changes. The Falcons (0-8) led 23-21 but the Tritons closed the set scoring the final four points to win 25-23. Alayna Santel recorded two of the final three kills in the stanza while Brooklyn Young added the third to give UMSL the 2-1 lead in the match.
The Tritons led by as many as five early in the fourth set and were up 23-19 late in the stanza but a 5-1 run from the Falcons evened the frame at 24. UMSL had two more chances to close out the match but each time SPU answered to extend the match. Maggie Johnson gave the Tritons their fifth match point with a kill and then error by Eva LaRochelle ended the contest giving UMSL the 28-26 victory.
The Tritons hit .221 in the match with 52 kills against 23 errors in 131 chances. Santel finished with a match and career-high 21 kills. She was joined in double figures by Young with 11 kills. Caitlin Bishop finished with 40 assists, Young and Hannah Copeland had four blocks each and Skylar Weaver added 14 digs.
The Falcons had 56 kills against 28 errors in 150 attempts to finish hitting .187. Allison Wilks led SPU with 15 kills while Hannah Hair added 10 kills. Emily Tulino handed out 39 assists, LaRochelle, Hair and Erin Smith had five blocks each and Christina Lopez had 16 digs.
UMSL 3, Wheeling 1
In the championship match, UMSL led from to start to finish taking the opening set by a score of 25-21. Santel continued her impressive play with seven kills in the stanza. The Cardinals (2-6) rallied to win the second set 25-17 as they hit .333 in the frame and were led by Katie Wilking and Maddy Winters who combined for 11 of their 17 kills.
The Tritons jumped out to a 9-2 lead in third set and wouldn’t let Wheeling get closer than three points on its way to a 25-17 win. UMSL hit .279 in the frame with Copeland leading the charge with eight kills in the stanza. The Triton defense held the Cardinals to .026 hitting percentage in the frame.
UMSL trailed by four early but used an 13-4 run to take a 16-11 lead after an attack error by Lindsey James. It wouldn’t let Wheeling get closer than three the rest of the way as it sealed the win 25-21 on a kill by Young.
The Tritons hit .227 with 64 kills against 25 errors in 172 attempts and were led by Copeland with a career-high 16 kills. She was joined in double figures by Santel with 14 while Iyannah Jackson added 13 and Johnson and Young finished with 10 kills each. Bishop had a season-high 59 assists, Copeland had four blocks and Weaver finished with 17 digs.
The Cardinals recorded 51 kills against 22 errors in 155 swings and were led by Wilking with 16 kills while Winters added 14 kills. Karly Niesen distributed 43 assists, Winters had six blocks and Riley Kindall finished with 16 digs.
The No. 4 Tritons are 7-1 heading into their GLVC opener, Friday night against McKendree. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
UMSL will host its home opener this Friday, September 20, when the Tritons host McKendree in the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener for both clubs.
First serve for that match at the Mark Twain Building will be at 6 p.m.
UMSL sports information contributed to this story.
2024 UMSL TRITONS WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | Site | Opponent | Location | Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 20, 2024 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Home | McKendree | Mark Twain Building | |
| September 21, 2024 (Saturday) | 4 p.m. | Home | Maryville | Mark Twain Building | |
| September 27, 2024 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Rockhurst | Kansas City, Mo. / Mason-Halpin Gymnsaium | |
| September 28, 2024 (Saturday) | 4 p.m. | Away | William Jewell | Liberty, Mo. / Mabee Center | |
| October 5, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | McKendree | Lebanon, Ill. / Melvin Price Convocation Center | |
| October 11, 2024 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Home | #23 Lewis | Mark Twain Building | |
| 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 |