Box Score

(Aurora, Ill.) – Trailing Wayne State two sets to one and down nine in the fourth set the Missouri S&T Lady Miners went on a furious rally to overcome the deficit and defeat the Warriors 3-2 (17-25, 25-19, 20-25, 30-28, and 15-10) on Saturday afternoon in Aurora, Ill.

S&T (11-10) got off to great start begin the match scoring three straight points. It didn't last though as Wayne State (9-10) went on a 12-5 run to take control of the opening frame. The Lady Miners closed to within 13-11, but the Warriors pulled away with a 6-2 run to stretch their lead to six points. S&T got as close as 20-16 but couldn't get any closer as WSU finished the frame scoring five of the final six points.

The Warriors hit 20.5 percent in the opening stanza while the Lady Miners were held to just five percent. Katarzyna Sak had five kills in the opening frame to lead Wayne State while Kit Spears (Valley Center, Kan./Valley Center) and Erin Bekebrede (St. Charles, Mo./St. Charles) had two each for the Lady Miners.

S&T fell behind early in the second set but worked their way back to a tie score on a kill by Spears. The two sides then proceeded to trade points and it remained tied at 8 all. The Lady Miners took the lead for good with a 7-4 run to take the 15-12 lead. They would stretch their lead to seven at 24-17 on a bad set by Cydney Biessel. The Warriors cut it down to 24-19, but Bekebrede finished the set off with a kill to even at 1-1.

S&T hit 31.6 percent with 14 kills in the frame and were led by Samantha Klump (Ash Grove, Mo./Homeschooled) with four and Bekebrede with three. Wayne State hit 16 percent with 15 kills and was led by Madie Kent with six kills.

The third set was pretty evenly matched through the first 30 points as neither side had more than a two point lead. The Warriors took control of the set by scoring five of the next seven points to take a 20-17 lead. S&T closed to within 20-19 but were outscored downed the stretch 5-1 to fall 25-20.

The Lady Miners hit 29 percent but Wayne State was even better hitting 42 percent. Klump had four kills to lead S&T while Sak had six for the Warriors.

Wayne State got out to a nine point lead early in the fourth set before the Lady Miners began to chip away at the lead. S&T chipped the lead down to 14-11, but the Warriors ran off four straight to go back up by an 18-11 score. The Lady Miners then ran off four straight points to close within three, but once again the Warriors responded with back-to-back points to grab a five point lead.

S&T closed to within 23-22, but an error by Hayley Wright (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) set up match point for the Warriors. Trailing by two match points the Lady Miners tied it up on a kill by Klump and a block by Klump and Jennifer Costello (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway South ).

Each side had their chances with multiple set points before S&T closed it out by scoring the final three points to win the set and force the fifth and deciding game.

The Lady Miners hit 12 percent in the fourth set and were led by Klump with four and Bekebrede and Katie Herington (Kalona, Iowa/Mid-Prairie) with three each. S&T's defense tightened its grip on the Warrior offense holding them to just six percent in the set. Sak had six kills for Wayne State.

The final set went back and forth through the first 18 points with neither side holding more than a one point lead. With the score tied the Lady Miners closed out the match strong by scoring five of the final six points to complete its rally and win the match.

S&T hit 25 percent in the final frame and held the Warriors to a zero hitting percentage. Klump had six kills to lead the Lady Miners while Maureen MacDonald had two kills for Wayne State.

Klump finished the match with 19 kills against just one error, nine total blocks and six digs.