The UMSL Tritons players & coaches post with the championship trophy, after winning the NCAA Midwest Regional title for the second straight year. (Photo: Cedric Williams)

NCAA Midwest Regional Final	1	2	3	4	Final
#2 Ferris State (27-8)	20	25	20	17	(1)
#1 UMSL (33-1)	25	19	25	25	(3)

Nora Nichols
Staff Writer

NORMANDY, MO — One is fun, but twice is so nice.

That’s what the University of Missouri-St. Louis women’s volleyball team experienced Saturday night, when it won its second straight NCAA Midwest Regional championship, by defeating Ferris State, three sets to one, in a match the Tritons hosted at the Mark Twain Building.

With the win, UMSL became the first team since Grand Valley State in 2007 and 2008 to win back-to-back Midwest Regional titles. UMSL was also the first No. 1 seed to win the Midwest Regional on its own floor since the University of Indianapolis did it in 2012.

“It was a good competitive match,” UMSL head coach Ryan Young said. “(We) got challenged by a really nice Ferris team. They really served us extremely tough, and gave us some fits, especially in that second set. But I thought we rose to the occasion as the match went on.”

The Tritons definitely did. They won the first set 25-20, thanks in large part to a 10-4 run that turned an 8-7 deficit into a 17-12 lead.

From that point on, the teams traded points back and forth, but UMSL was able to maintain its five-point lead until it closed out the set.

The second set began as the first ended, with the teams trading points. But then, Ferris went on an 8-1 run to take an 18-11 lead, which it was able to hold until it closed out the set with a 25-19 win.

The third set was just like the second, with the teams trading points at the beginning. The lead changed hands 10 times, but midway through UMSL took over by going on a 7-1 run, which consisted of four kills and three blocks that gave the Tritons a 20-15 lead.

UMSL eventually won the set 25-20 and it was clear the Tritons knew they were just one set away from earning back-to-back regional titles.

“I thought our defense did an awesome job,” Young said. “Just fantastic, creating swings and transition with quality digs. Overall, a really nice job by our kids to adjust after that set two… Pretty pleased with it.”

The fourth set was all UMSL. The Tritons went on a 6-1 run early to go ahead 11-7, then after trading points, UMSL went on a 7-2 run to go ahead 21-14.

With that kind of lead and needing just a few points more to clinch the match, it was just a matter of time until the Tritons would get to celebrate.

Senior hitters Lexie Rang and Delaney Humm led the way with 23 kills and 17 kills, respectively. After the game, both players were named to the regional all-tournament team, as were teammates Caitlin Bishop and Kylie Adams.

Bishop had 56 assists in the championship match and Adams had 25 digs.

For the season, UMSL is now 33-1 and will now move on to national quarterfinals — also known as the Elite Eight — which will be played next weekend in Moon Township, Penn.

Once all eight regionals are completed, the teams will be re-seeded and opponents will be determined with the No. 1 seed facing No. 8, No. 2 going against No. 7, No. 3 playing No. 6, and No. 4 taking on No. 5.

The matches will be played at Robert Morris University’s UPMC Events Center, beginning on Thursday, December 7. The national semifinals will be played on Friday, December 8, with the national championship match scheduled for Saturday, December 9, at 4 p.m.

#2 Ferris St. (27-8)

#	Player	SP	Attack				Set		Serve		Block			Def		Rec
			K	E	TA	Pct	A	E	SA	SE	BS	BA	BE	DIG	BHE	RE	Pts
13	Corstange, Kenzy	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	10	0	0	1.0
12	Maat, Kaylee	4	2	1	12	.083	47	0	0	2	0	2	0	7	0	0	3.0
17	Tecumseh, Hannah	4	8	3	26	.192	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	1	9.0
5	Henneman-Dallape, Olivia	4	13	6	47	.149	0	0	0	2	3	3	1	6	0	0	17.5
16	Bylut, Leah	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	17	0	0	0.0
4	Nowicki, Claire	4	7	2	26	.192	1	0	0	1	0	1	2	14	0	1	7.5
14	Fairfield, Syann	4	12	0	25	.480	0	0	1	3	0	3	0	3	0	0	14.5
7	Bleecher, Emma	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	1	0.0
2	May, Emily	4	9	3	26	.231	0	0	0	0	2	3	0	2	0	0	12.5
19	Geren, Logyn	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.0
TM	TEAM	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
	Totals		51	15	162	.222	49	0	2	11	6	12	4	65	0	3	65

#1 UMSL (33-1)

#	Player	SP	Attack				Set		Serve		Block			Def		Rec
			K	E	TA	Pct	A	E	SA	SE	BS	BA	BE	DIG	BHE	RE	Pts
10	Elliott, Mya	4	5	4	15	.067	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	6.0
18	Rang, Lexie	4	23	6	61	.279	1	0	1	2	0	1	0	12	0	0	24.5
14	Humm, Delaney	4	17	5	42	.286	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	3	0	0	18.0
1	Flowers, Hailey	4	9	4	24	.208	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	2	0	0	9.5
9	Adams, Kylie	4	0	0	1	.000	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	25	0	1	1.0
7	Foster, Trysta	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	6	0	0	0.0
2	Edson, Rylee	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	14	0	1	1.0
5	Bishop, Caitlin	4	2	1	4	.250	56	0	0	1	0	1	0	13	0	0	2.5
17	Copeland, Hannah	4	9	3	18	.333	2	0	0	0	2	1	0	2	0	0	11.5
12	Weaver, Skylar	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	9	0	0	0.0
TM	TEAM	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
	Totals		65	23	165	.255	65	0	3	6	3	6	3	86	0	2	74

2023 UMSL Tritons Women’s Volleyball Schedule

Date	Time	At	Opponent	Location
Dec. 7, 2023	1:30 pm	NCAA Championships – Quarterfinals	Anderson	Moon Township, Pa. / UPMC Events Center
Dec. 8, 2023	4 pm	NCAA Championships – Semifinals	TBA	Moon Township, Pa. / UPMC Events Center
Dec. 9, 2023	4 pm	NCAA Championships – Championship Game	TBA	Moon Township, Pa. / UPMC Events Center