Box Score

(Rolla, Mo.) – The Missouri S&T Lady Miners dropped the opening set, then won three straight to down the University of Mary 3-1 (24-26, 25-23, 25-13, 25-14) on Friday evening in the Middle of Everywhere Classic at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

The opening set was back and forth through the midway point tied at 10-10. S&T (4-2) went on an 8-2 run and appeared to be in control of the match, but Mary (3-3) answered with an 8-2 run of its own to tie the match at 20 all.

The Lady Miners grabbed a 23-21 lead but couldn't close out the Marauders as a kill by Amanda Hennessy and a block by Allison Opp and Julie Paradine tied it back up. S&T regained a 24-23 and had set point but Mary blocked three straight balls to win set one.

The Marauders hit 20 percent for the opening frame and were led by Opp and Hennessy with four kills apiece. The Lady Miners on the other hand hit only 6 percent and registered nine kills led by Hayley Wright (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) with four.

The second set started out much the same as the first with the score tied 5-5 through the first 10 points. Mary made the first move running off six of the next eight points to take an 11-7 lead. S&T responded by running off four straight points behind kills from Wright and Jenny Costello to tie it at 11 all. The Marauders regained the lead before the Lady Miners rallied to tie and eventually take the lead on a kill by Katie Herington (Kalona, Iowa/Mid-Prairie).

S&T stretched its lead to three before Mary tied it again with three straight points late in the set. Unlike the first set though the Lady Miners were able to close out set two on a kill by Samantha Klump (Ash Grove, Mo./Homeschooled) and a bad set by Emily Turkowski.

Each team hit better in the second stanza as the Marauders were at 31 percent while S&T was at 29 percent. Hennessy led Mary with five kills while Wright had five to lead S&T.

The next two sets were all Lady Miners. After a pair of early ties in each frame, S&T went on a pair of big runs to pull away from the Marauders. The Lady Miners hit 36.4 percent in the third set and had 10 kills against only two errors in 22 chances. Mary on the other hand was held to negative seven percent recording 8 kills against 10 errors in 30 chances.

The fourth set S&T was even better as they hit 37 percent registering 13 kills in 27 chances. Defensively the Lady Miners held Mary to a negative hitting percentage again at minus three.

For the match S&T finished by hitting 26.4 percent with 47 kills in 121 chances. Wright led three players in double figures with 11 kills. Herington and Erin Bekebrede (St. Charles, Mo./St. Charles) had 10 kills apiece. Costello dished out 41 assists while Bridget Williams (Topeka, Kan./Hayden) and Kit Spears (Valley Center, Kan./Valley Center) recorded double figure dig totals with 17 and 13 respectively.

The Marauders finished the match hitting only 12 percent and were led by Lauren Wells and Laci Murtha with 11 kills apiece.

S&T returns to action on Saturday morning when it hosts Southeastern Oklahoma beginning at 11 a.m. at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.