Rolla, Mo. – An assortment of emotions was experienced by the Missouri S&T women's volleyball team as the host Miners overcame an early two-set deficit to Truman State this Friday (Oct. 26) night and forced a deciding fifth set in their annual Dig Pink Match which in turn the visiting Bulldogs won for a 3-2 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) victory (25-21, 25-14, 18-25, 21-25, 15-7) before an enthusiastic crowd of 376 fans at S&T's Gibson Arena.

The Miners appeared to be on the verge of being swept in three after losing the opening two sets, but showed resiliency by bouncing back to win the next two sets and take Truman State to a winner-take-all fifth set.  Unfortunately, TSU jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the fifth set which was too much for the Miners to overcome. 

Leading the offense for S&T were senior outside hitter Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) and junior outside hitter Emilee Schlader (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston) with 14 kills apiece.  Senior right-side hitter Ellen Schulz (Wildwood, Mo./Eureka) provided eight kills and freshman middle hitter Kiernan O'Boyle (Kansas City, Mo./St. Teresa's Academy) tallied seven kills on 10 attempts for a .700 hitting percentage.

Redshirt sophomore setter Sarah McGinnis (Middleton, Wis./Edgewood) racked up a match-high tying 42 assists to direct the S&T offense, which compiled 58 kills and hit at a .187 clip for the match.  Junior defensive specialist-libero Corinne Stulce (St. Charles, Mo./Duchesne) was the lone Miner to notch double-figure digs with a match-most 25 output..  Junior defensive specialist-libero Eva Mich (St. Peters, Mo./Francis Howell Central) had seven digs as the Miners trailed Truman State, 71-62, in the defensive statistical category.   Kiernan O'Boyle (Kansas City, Mo./St. Teresa's Academy) supplied two block solos and four block assists to pace S&T at the net as the Miners concluded the match with eight total team blocks.

With the loss, the Miners are now 14-13 overall and 6-9 in the GLVC this season.  For Truman State,the win improved the Bulldogs' overall mark to 19-8 and 9-6 in the conference.  TSU would produce a .246 hitting percentage for the contest and chalked up a 49-kills total.  TSU's Ellie Kaat's 16 kills lead all players while Lauren Wacker's 21 digs paced three Bulldogs in double-digit digs figures.  At the net, TSU generated 14 total team blocks. 

Set 1: TSU 25 – S&T 21
The first set was played neck and neck before Truman State snapped a 20-all tie with back-to-back points.  The Miners, who played TSU to eight ties in the set, picked up a point off a timeout to pull within 22-21 before the Bulldogs reeled off three unanswered points to win the opening set.

Set 2: TSU 25 – S&T 14
The scoring differential margin was narrow in the early going as both squads were deadlocked at nine points apiece, which represented the set's  ninth tie.  A 4-0 TSU scoring run from there not only broke the tie but gave the Bulldogs a lead which they never relinquished.  S&T managed to get within three points at 15-12, but could get no closer as the Bulldogs outscored the MIners 10-2 the rest of the way. 

Set 3: S&T 25 – TSU 18
Down but not out, the Miners bounced back to capture the win in set three. The key scoring run occurred when S&T, which was ahead 18-17, posted four straight points to extend its advantage to 22-17 and tallied three of the last four set points to pick up the victory.  The Miners registered their most productive hitting performance of the match at .400 efficiency with 12 kills and two miscues in 25 attacks. 

Set 4: S&T 25 – TSU 21
An inspiring effort was turned in by S&T in the fourth set as the Miners demonstrated perseverance down the stretch to earn the win and force a deciding fifth set.  S&T continued to hit at a productive rate as the Miners completed the set with a .333 attack percentage as a result fo 20 kills in 42 opportunities.  The Miners held a slim lead in the set's later stages of the set until the Bulldogs were able to notch the set-tying point at even the scoreboard at 21-each.  A Kiernan O'Boyle (Kansas City, Mo./St. Teresa's Academy) kill gave S&T the lead back and a kill from Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) increased the Miners' advantage to 23-21. The set's final two points would go to S&T thanks to a pair of Truman State attack errors.

Set 5: TSU 15 – S&T 7
An 9-1 TSU run to start the fifth set proved to be too much for S&T to overcome as the Miners' narrowest deficit would be at six points, 13-7.  By then, S&T had virtually no room for error and the Bulldogs seized the opportunity by scoring the set's next two points to come away victorious.  Truman State had its most productive hitting effort of the match in the deciding set by posting a .385 attack proficiency mark while the Miners were hampered by a -.115 hitting percentage. 

Up Next: Missouri S&T will make its final home appearance of the 2018 season this Saturday (Oct. 27) as the Miners host the Quincy Hawks at Gibson Arena.  First serve is slated for 3 p.m. (CT).  Prior to the conference match, the Miners will pay tribute to their three senior student-athletes - Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic), Ellen Schulz (Wildwood, Mo./Eureka), and Carson Talley (St. Louis, Mo./Affton) in a special pre-match ceremony.

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