UMSL senior hitter Lexie Rang posted double-digit kills in all four of the Tritons’ wins over the weekend. (Photo courtesy: UMSL Athletics)
Nora Nichols
Staff Writer
LEBANON, IL — The fifth-ranked University of Missouri-St. Louis women’s volleyball team enjoyed another dominant weekend to begin the 2023 season. The Tritons swept all four of its matches at the McKendree Invitational, lifting UMSL’s record to 12-0, which equals the best start in school history.
On Friday, the Tritons defeated No. 25 Harding and unranked Maryville, before closing the weekend with wins over Illinois-Springfield and host McKendree.
No. 5 UMSL 3 No. 25 Harding 1
The Tritons led wire-to-wire in the opening set and were up by as many as seven but had to withstand a late run from the Lady Bison (6-4) to win the frame 25-22 to take the early lead. Hannah Copeland and Hailey Flowers had four kills apiece to lead UMSL in the stanza.
The second set went back-and-forth early before Harding took control building a six-point advantage. The Tritons made a late run getting to within 24-23 after a kill from Flowers but couldn’t complete the comeback as Chloe Ingersoll ended the set with a kill to even the match at a set apiece. The Lady Bison hit .302 in the frame while UMSL hit .217.
Harding led by three early in the third stanza but the Tritons rallied to take a 15-14 lead on a kill from Flowers. UMSL’s lead grew to 20-16 after a service from Lexie Rang but the Lady Bison battled back to within 21-20 after a kill from Skylar McKinnon. The Tritons closed out the set scoring the final four points of the stanza behind a pair of kills from Delaney Humm.
UMSL built a five-point advantage midway through the final stanza but Harding wouldn’t go quietly as they fought off a pair of match points to cut the Triton lead to 24-23 after an error by Rang. After an UMSL timeout, Mya Elliott terminated a ball to end the match and give the Tritons a 25-23 victory.
UMSL hit .288 in the match with 63 kills against 14 errors in 170 swings. Humm led the Tritons with an UMSL career-high 21 kills and was one kill shy of her collegiate career-high. Rang added 15 kills while Flowers and Copeland finished with nine and eight kills respectively. Caitlin Bishop handed out 48 assists and Kylie Adams had a match-high 25 digs.
Harding hit .276 for the contest with 63 kills against 18 errors in 163 chances. Ingersoll finished with a match-high 24 kills. Olivia Wiedower had 55 set assists and Emma Winiger had 18 digs.
No. 5 UMSL 3 Maryville 0
The Tritons got off to a good start building an early four-point lead in its match against Maryville (6-3) but the Saints ran off eight of the next 10 points to take their only lead of the set at 8-6 after a kill from Ella Brinkman.
UMSL went on a 13-3 run to seize a 19-11 lead and wouldn’t relinquish it. Humm had three kills in the run while Rang added two more and Skylar Weaver had two aces. Maryville wouldn’t get closer than seven points the rest of the frame as the Tritons took the opener 25-14.
The Saints led by three late in the middle frame but UMSL responded scoring nine of the final 11 points to take the stanza 25-21 and a commanding 2-0 lead.
Maryville built a four-point lead early in the final stanza but the Tritons fought back to take a 15-12 lead after a kill from Rang midway through the frame. The Saints cut the deficit to 18-17 but UMSL never gave up the lead closing the match on a 7-2 run to take the set 25-19 and complete the sweep.
The Tritons hit .240 in the contest with 42 kills against 13 errors in 121 chances and were led by Humm with 16 kills while Rang had a double-double with 11 kills and 20 digs. Bishop distributed 35 assists and Elliott had three total blocks.
Maryville was held to a .127 attack percentage with 33 kills against 18 errors in 118 attempts. Brinkman led the way for the Saints with 11 kills while Abbie Schnell had 16 assists and Taylor Hasbrook finished with a match-high 22 digs.
No. 5 UMSL 3 Illinois-Springfield 0
UMSL went on a 15-4 midway through set two extending its lead to 22-10 after a kill from Rang. The Tritons won the frame 25-13 as they hit .241 and were led by Rang and Humm with three kills each while Copeland and Elliott had two kills apiece.
UMSL never trailed in the middle stanza racing out to an 8-1 lead and never let UIS get closer than five points the rest of the frame on its way to the 25-15 victory. The Tritons had a balanced attack in the set hitting .400 and had five players with at least three kills led by Rang with four.
UMSL closed the match on an 11-3 run to win the final set 25-16. Humm had seven of the team’s 16 kills in the frame.
The Tritons hit .317 for the contest with 43 kills against 10 errors in 104 chances. They were led by Humm with a match-high 13 kills while Rang added 11 and Elliott finished with eight kills and five blocks. Bishop had 37 assists and Adams finished with a match-high 22 digs.
The UMSL defense held the Prairie Star attack to .053 hitting percentage and a total of 26 kills. Maria Spengler and Eirini Glynou led UIS with seven kills each. Erica Sledge had 21 and Amanda McConnell added 11 digs.
No. 5 UMSL 3 McKendree 0
In its final match of the weekend UMSL jumped out to a 10-2 lead against the host Bearcats (7-4) but McKendree closed to within 16-14 after a kill from Colleen Preusser. The Tritons countered scoring eight of the next 12 points to stretch its lead to six and wouldn’t let the Bearcats get any closer as it won the set 25-19.
The second set was the tightest of the three featuring 17 ties and eight lead changes. McKendree jumped out to an early four-point lead but UMSL fought back taking a 20-17 lead late in the frame after an error by Claire Diercks. The Tritons reached set point first at 24-22 after a kill from Humm but the Bearcats wouldn’t go away scoring three straight points and had a chance to even the match at a set apiece after Preusser and Lauren McCurley blocked Rang.
The two sides kept going back and forth with the Bearcats regaining the lead at 29-28 after a kill from Destiny Gray and had another chance to close the set out but UMSL ran off the final three points to win the set 31-29 on an ace serve from Adams.
The Tritons led by as many as five late in set three but McKendree clawed back to within two at 20-18 after an ace serve from Preusser. The Tritons regrouped and finished the match strong scoring five of the final six points to take the set 25-19 and complete the sweep.
UMSL hit .226 in the match registering 47 kills against 16 errors in 137 swings and was led by Rang who finished with a double-double with 15 kills and 13 digs. Humm added 13 kills while Elliott finished with seven kills. Bishop handed out 41 assists and Adams had 15 digs and four aces.
The Bearcats finished the contest hitting .206 with 41 kills against 14 errors in 131 chances. Preusser hit .417 for the contest with 15 kills while Emma Mcllhargie finished with nine kills. Amber Williams distributed 32 assists and Keely Davis had 16 digs.
The Tritons will begin Great Lakes Valley Conference play on Friday, when they’ll host William Jewell in their home opener on Friday. First serve at the Mark Twain Building is scheduled for 6 p.m.
2023 UMSL Tritons Women’s Volleyball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 22, 2023 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Home | William Jewell | Mark Twain Building |
| September 23, 2023 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Rockhurst | Mark Twain Building |
| September 30, 2023 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | McKendree | Mark Twain Building |
| October 6, 2023 (Friday) | 5 p.m. (CDT) | Away | Indianapolis | Indianapolis, Ind. / Ruth Lilly Fitness Center |
| October 7, 2023 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Lewis | Romeoville, Ill. / Neil Carey Arena |
| October 13, 2023 (Friday) | TBA | Neutral | Midwest Region Crossover | Hammond, Ind. / Hammond Sportsplex |
| October 14, 2023 (Saturday) | TBA | Neutral | Midwest Region Crossover | Hammond, Ind. / Hammond Sportsplex |
| October 20, 2023 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Home | Missouri S&T | Mark Twain Building |
| October 21, 2023 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Maryville | Mark Twain Building |
| October 27, 2023 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Upper Iowa | Fayette, Iowa / Dorman Memorial Gymnasium |
| October 28, 2023 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Truman State | Kirksville, Mo. / Pershing Arena |
| November 3, 2023 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Home | Illinois Springfield | Mark Twain Building |
| November 4, 2023 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | 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 |