Quincy, Ill. – The Missouri S&T Miners couldn't overcome a slow start in its four set loss at Quincy on Friday evening at Pepsi Arena in Quincy, Ill. Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) led S&T (8-14, 3-7 GLVC) with 16 kills while Alexis White (Auburn, Wash./Riverside) added 46 assists, five kills and 10 digs. Cydney Denning (San Antonio, Texas/Brandeis ) had a career-high 27 digs.

The Miners trailed by as many as seven in the opening set before mounting a late comeback to get within 24-21 after a Kyley Thompson (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) kill but the Hawks (12-10, 6-4 GLVC) were able to withstand the rally as S&T committed an error on the second set point. Quincy finished the opening stanza with 15 kills against four errors to hit .256 percent while the Miners registered 12 kills against seven errors to finish with a hitting percentage of .116.

Quincy built a five-point cushion through the middle stages of the second frame and appeared to be in control before S&T cut the gap to 21-18 after a service ace from Caitlin Brocker (Crystal Lake, Ill./Marian Central ). The Hawks then scored four of the final five points to win the set 25-19 and take the 2-0 lead into the break.

The Miners trailed at the midway point of the third frame and then went on a 7-1 run to grab a 19-16 lead on a kill from Carson Talley (St. Louis, Mo./Affton). Quincy closed the deficit to one on a couple of occasions but couldn't get over the hump as back-to-back errors by Bekah Raebel and Bobbie Eastman gave S&T the 25-22 victory and extend the match to a fourth set.

The fourth stanza was a see-saw affair with each side answering each other's runs. The Miners grabbed a 22-20 lead late in the frame on a kill from Combs forcing the Hawks to use their last timeout. S&T still lead 23-21 and was in good position to extend the match to a fifth set when Quincy rattled off three straight forcing the Miners to use their final timeout. S&T responded after the timeout getting back-to-back kills from Caroline Dykes (Lawrence, Kan./Lawrence) and Combs but were unable to close the set out as Emily Lindemulder recorded two kills and was part of a double block to give the Hawks the 27-25 set win.

The Miners finished the contest hitting .172 percent recording 59 kills against 25 errors in 198 chances. Combs led three players in double figures and was joined by Claire Friedlund (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South) with 12 kills and Dykes added 11 kills. White finished with a double-double and Denning led five players in double figures with her 27 digs. Brocker and Friedlund added 16 digs each, Combs had 14 digs and White added 10.

Quincy finished the match with 65 kills against 22 errors in 205 chances for an attack percentage of .210. Jessica Licurgo led all players with 18 kills while Lindemulder added 15 kills and Raebel had 13 kills. Sara Rathbun handed out 56 assists and Rachel Shores had a match-high 31 digs.

S&T is back in action on Saturday traveling to Kirksville, Mo., to take on the Bulldogs of Truman State in a 5 p.m. contest at Pershing Arena.