The UMSL Tritons celebrate winning the final point in the Midwest Regional championship game against Ferris State, Saturday afternoon in Quincy, Ill. (Photo courtesy: UMSL Athletics)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UMSL (24-6) | 21 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 15 |
| Ferris St. (26-10) | 25 | 28 | 18 | 16 | 11 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
QUINCY, IL — The University of Missouri-St. Louis women’s volleyball team won its first NCAA regional title in program history, Sunday evening at Quincy University’s Pepsi Arena, in a dramatic five-set, reverse sweep victory over Ferris State University.
The Tritons lost the first two sets of the match, but rallied to win the final three to claim what is by far, the biggest win in program history.
The win will send UMSL (24-6) to the NCAA national quarterfinals, which is also called the Volleyball Fall Festival in Seattle, and will be played December 1-3, at Seattle Pacific University’s Royal Brougham Pavilion.
In Saturday’s Midwest Regional Championship Game, Ferris State looked fierce in the first two sets, winning the first, 25-21, and the second, 28-26. UMSL had three set points in that second set, but couldn’t put the Bulldogs away.
Beginning with the third set though, the Tritons simply took over the match.
They were dominant in the third and fourth sets — never trailing in either — and eventually winning by scores of 25-18 and 25-16.
In the fifth set, Ferris State won the first two points to grab the lead early. But UMSL answered back quickly and won the next five points to take the lead. The Tritons would never trail again.
Ferris State did manage to tie the score at 10. But UMSL won the next three points to take the lead again, then two of the next three points to close out the match. The Tritons won the final two points on hitting errors by the Bulldogs.
For the game, neither team hit great. Ferris State finished with a .192 hitting percentage, and UMSL was only a bit better at .241 percent.
The key for the Tritons though, was they finished with 74 kills, while the Bulldogs had just 60.
Senior outside hitters Charlotte Richards and Lexie Rang led the way for UMSL with 20 kills apiece, while fellow senior Hailey Flowers added 13. Freshman setter Caitlyn Bishop was fantastic setting up the offense, as she finished with a career-best 62 assists.
On defense, junior libero Kylie Adams posted 30 digs to lead the way, while Richards added 28, and Rang had 18.
For the Fall Festival, UMSL will be the No. 7 seed and will play No. 2 seed Barry University (28-5) from the Sunshine State Conference, which won the NCAA Southern Regional title.