Box Score (Rensselaer, Ind.) – Behind a career-high 15 kills from Katie McDonald (Orland Park, Ill./Providence Catholic) the Missouri S&T Miners broke a three-match losing streak and opened Great Lakes Valley Conference play with a 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-14, 25-19) win at Saint Joseph's on Saturday afternoon. S&T had a season-high hitting percentage of .235 (51 kills/16 errors/149 total attempts).

The Miners (2-4, 1-0 GLVC) hit a blistering 51.9 percent in the opening set to take the opener 25-17. The Pumas (1-5, 0-1 GLVC) came out strong in the second set racing out to a 10-4 lead, but S&T responded scoring nine of the next 12 points to even the frame at 13-all. SJC then outscored the Miners 12-10 the rest of the set to win 25-23 and even the match at a set apiece.

S&T's defense stepped up its game up in the third set holding the Pumas to a negative .028 hitting percentage forcing them into 10 errors against nine kills. Offensively, the Miners registered 11 kills against just four errors in 37 attempts (.189 hitting percentage) as they took the third set decisively 25-14.

S&T kept the pressure on in set four recording 12 kills against three errors and outhit Saint Joseph's .188-to-.019 percent and were able to finish off the contest with a 25-19 victory.

For the Miners this was their fourth match of the season registering 50 kills or more in a match. Joining McDonald in double figure kills was Krista Haslag (Linn, Mo./Helias ) with 13 while Claire Friedlund (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South) finished with eight kills. Allie Plunk (Hurst, Texas/Birdville) dished out 35 assists and had a team-high 18 digs along with Jackie Pyles (West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield).

Saint Joseph's finished the contest recording 45 kills against 29 errors in 151 chances to hit .106 percent. Kate Wagenaar led the Pumas with 15 kills while Anna Sacco had 10 kills. Megan Sturm distributed 23 assists while Bridget Krasowski had 13 digs.

S&T continues its road trip on Sunday with a visit to Indianapolis to take on the Greyhounds at 12 p.m. (Central time). UIndy won its conference opener sweeping past Drury on Saturday afternoon.