Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – For only the second time in this season's first eight matches, the Missouri S&T women's volleyball team tasted defeat as the Miners were dealt a 3-1 loss (25-21, 14-25, 14-25, 20-25) by Lynn (Fla.) this Saturday (Sept. 1) at the 11th annual Nova Southeastern Shark Invitational.  
 
Missouri S&T concluded the two-day tournament with a 3-1 record as the Miners are now 6-2 overall on the 2018 campaign, which equals their best start since the 2015 squad posted an identical record en route to finishing the season at 22-11 overall.  With the victory, Lynn extended its winning string to five straight as the Fighting Knights improved their overall record to 6-1 on the season.  
 
The Miners, who hit .071 for the match with 39 kills, were led by senior outside hitter Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) and junior outside hitter Emilee Schlader (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston).  Combs tallied 12 kills to pace S&T while Schlader registered 11 kills and produced a .219 attack percentage for the contest.
 
A pair of setters, redshirt sophomore Sarah McGinnis (Middleton, Wis./Edgewood) and freshman Sarah Cavanaugh (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Thunder Ridge) directed the S&T offense as McGinnis finished with 15 assists and Cavanaugh contributed 10 helpers.
 
Four Miners posted double-digit digs totals, led by junior defensive specialist-libero Corinne Stulce's (St. Charles, Mo./Duchesne) 20 digs output.  Schlader and junior defensive specialist-libero Eva Mich (St. Peters, Mo./Francis Howell Central) each dug 11 Fighting Knight hitting attacks while McGinnis added 10 digs as S&T accumulated 72 total to Lynn's 76 digs. 
 
Both teams put up productive numbers at the net as the Miners recorded 12.5 team blocks while Lynn chalked up 11 rejections.  Individually, Emilee Schlader (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston) totaled a combined six blocks with two solos and four block assists.  Junior middle hitter Caroline Dykes (Lawrence, Kan./Lawrence) and freshman middle hitter Kiernan O'Boyle (Kansas City, Mo./St. Teresa's Academy) had five block assists apiece.    
 
The Fighting Knights finished the four-set match with a .184 attack percentage on 46 kills in 147 chances. Sonja Udovcic and Rafaela Fonseca both turned in a double-double performance for Lynn as Udovcic had a match-high 17 kills and 16 digs while Fonseca notched 15 digs to go with 10 kills. Marine Kinna's match-leading 21 digs was tops among five LU players, who garnered double-figure totals in digs.      
 
Set 1: S&T 25 – LU 21
The Miners led almost the entire set and held a six-point advantage at 14-8 before Lynn stormed back to go on a 8-3 scoring spurt to narrow its margin to 17-16.  But, S&T tallied five of the next set's six points to take a 22-17 lead on an Emilee Schlader (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston) kill.  The Fighting Knights got to within a deuce (23-21) only to have the Miners reel off back-to-back points via a Carlie Combs' (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) kill and a LU attack error. 
 
Set 2: LU 25 – S&T 15
S&T fell behind early in set two and was unable to overcome its deficit.  The Miners drew within five at 18-13, but the Fighting Knights went on a 7-1 tear from there to tie the contest.   
 
Set 3: LU 25 – S&T 14
 The same score, the same results as the Miners let a lead slip away.  A kill by Emilee Schlader (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston) had given S&T a three-point cushion (11-8), but the Miners' advantage was a short-lived one as Lynn produced a scoring run of 14-1 to gain the upper hand albeit at 22-12 and never relinquished their advantage.  The Fighting Knights then accounted for three of the set's final four points to win and put themselves in a favorable position to be one away from claiming the match.    
 
Set 4: LU 25 – S&T 20
 The two teams battled one another in the fourth frame with Lynn jumping ahead 14-8 midway through the set. A 7-3 S&T points run closed the Miners' margin to 17-15 before Lynn bumped its lead up to six (22-16) on a service ace.  A LU ball-handling miscue helped S&T get to within 23-20, but the Fighting Knights netted the remainder of the scoring.  
 
Up Next: Missouri S&T visits Joplin, Mo., this Tuesday, Sept. 4, for a non-conference match against the Missouri Southern State Lions. Opening serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CT) at MSSU's Robert Ellis Young Gymnasium.
 
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