Louisville, Ky. – The Missouri S&T Miners dropped a four set match at Bellarmine on Saturday afternoon at Knights Hall in Louisville, Ky. Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) led three Miners (9-16, 4-9 GLVC) in double figures with 12 kills while Claire Friedlund (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South) and Shelby Wagner (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit) added 10 kills each. Defensively, S&T had no answer for the Knights (17-9, 6-7 GLVC) Margaret Horihan who finished with a match-high 22 kills.

The opening set saw 14 ties and six lead changes as the two sides went back-and-forth. The Miners trailed 23-22 late in the frame but scored two straight points to grab a 24-23 lead and had an opportunity to win the stanza. After a Bellarmine timeout, it scored the final three points to take the set 26-24.

S&T got behind the eight-ball early in the second stanza trailing 8-1 and were unable to get closer than five points the rest of the set as the Knights recorded 16 kills in the frame to just eight for the Miners to win the stanza 25-16 and take the 2-0 lead into the break.

S&T flipped the script in the third frame scoring seven of the first eight points and led by as many as seven points before allowing Bellarmine to close to within 23-20 and forced the Miners to take a timeout. Caroline Dykes (Lawrence, Kan./Lawrence) extended the lead out of the timeout and then Wagner and Claire Luther (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South) teamed up to block Horihan to give S&T the 25-21 win and extend the match to a fourth set.

The Miners scored the first two points in the fourth stanza put were unable to maintain the lead as the Knights countered with a 10-2 run to take control of the set. S&T would get as close as 18-15 after an attack error by Ashley Jefferson but wouldn't get closer than that as Bellarmine answered back scoring six of the next nine points to grab a 24-18 lead. The Miners wouldn't go away scoring three straight to put some pressure on before Horihan ended the match with a kill.

S&T finished the contest recording 46 kills against 18 errors in 177 attacks for a hitting percentage of .158. Alexis White (Auburn, Wash./Riverside) distributed 37 assists while Cydney Denning (San Antonio, Texas/Brandeis ) led four players in double figures with 24 digs.

The Knights finished the contest with an attack percentage of .169 recording 62 kills against 28 errors in 201 chances. Horihan led three Bellarmine players in double figures and was joined by Jefferson with 13 kills and Hayden Dailey added 11 kills. Allie Muha handed out 36 assists and Jordyn Kuchenbrod had a match-high 36 assists.

The Miners return home on Friday to take on Illinois Springfield in a 7 p.m. contest. The match kicks off a five-match homestand to end the regular season.