Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 (Rolla, Mo.) – The Missouri S&T Lady Miners made it 10 straight wins defeating McKendree 3-1 (25-13, 21-25, 25-18, 25-16) and sweeping past Southwest Baptist 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-17). S&T (12-3) had a hitting percentage of 28.7 percent in the two matches and were led by Erin Bekebrede (St. Charles, Mo./St. Charles) with 37 kills.
S&T dominated the opening set against McKendree (4-12) building an early lead and not looking back on its way to the 25-13 win. The Lady Miners recorded 19 kills in the frame led by Bekebrede with seven. As a team they hit 50 percent and held the Bearcats to 23 percent.
The second set was tied early before McKendree scored four straight taking the lead for good. S&T trailed by as many as seven in the frame before getting to within 22-21. The Bearcats scored the final three points squaring the match at 1-1.
The Lady Miners hit just 19 percent in the frame and were led by Bekebrede with seven kills again. McKendree had 14 kills led by Erica Johnson with six. The Bearcats hit 28.9 percent in the stanza.
The third set was tight through the first 17 points before S&T began to pull away. Leading 9-8 the Lady Miners scored eight of the next 11 points to grab a 17-11 lead. McKendree pulled within 19-15 but got no closer as S&T won the set 25-18 on an attack error by Nadia Moore.
Bekebrede and Jackie Zellmer (Nixa, Mo./Nixa) combined for 10 of the Lady Miners 19 kills in the set. S&T hit 22.6 percent while holding the Bearcats to just 12.2 percent.
In the final set, S&T raced out to an early 7-1 lead and didn't look back. The lead eventually grew to nine and that ended up being the final margin as the Lady Miners won 25-16. Hayley Wright (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) had three kills for S&T while four others had two apiece. Defensively S&T held McKendree to a negative 10 percent hitting percentage.
Bekebrede led the way with 21 kills, Zellmer contributed 10 while Melanie Shehorn (Flora, Ill./Flora) chipped in with nine. Jennifer Costello (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway South ) had 51 assists while Jennifer Kegler (Ballwin, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy) had 20 digs. Jocelyn DeMotte (Topeka, Kan./Hayden) added 16 more and Bekebrede had 12 digs.
In the second match of the evening against Southwest Baptist, S&T didn't trail in either of the first two sets as it hit 39.4 percent with 34 kills. On the flip side the Bearcats (6-7) were held to just 11 percent hitting. The Lady Miners cruised to the first two set wins.
The third set saw three ties and a lead change early before S&T asserted its dominance. Leading 7-6, the Lady Miners scored seven of the next eight points extending its lead to 14-7. SBU whittled the lead down to 19-16 before S&T ran off five straight setting up match point.
The Bearcats extended the match by a point on a kill from Jordan Nedbalek, but Kit Spears (Valley Center, Kan./Valley Center) ended the match on the next swing with her 14^th kill of the match.
S&T finished the contest hitting 34 percent and had 51 kills led by Bekebrede and Spears combining for 30 of those. Costello dished out 41 assists while Kegler had 22 digs. Costello, DeMotte and Emily Jaeger (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) contributed eight digs apiece.
The Lady Miners return to action on Saturday taking on Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky., beginning at 4 p.m. (CST).