St. Louis, Mo. – A Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) thriller was on display this Friday (Sept. 14) evening as the Missouri S&T women's volleyball team battled back to force a deciding fifth set only to come out on the short end of a 3-2 decision (24-26, 25-23, 17-25, 27-25, 12-15) to the Missouri-St. Louis Tritons at UMSL's Mark Twain Building. 
 
Despite a match-high 20-kill performance from junior outside hitter Emilee Schlader (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston), S&T didn't show well in hitting efficiency as the Miners finished at .072 in comparison to UMSL's .138 attack proficiency.  S&T featured two players iwth double-digit kill totals as senior outside hitter Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) provided 10 kills to support S&T's offensive attack and helped defensively with a 16-digs effort.  

The Miners were busy on the defensive side as Combs was joined by five others, who registered double figures in digs.  Junior defensive specialist-libero Corinne Stulce (St. Charles, Mo./Duchesne) totaled a team-leading 30 digs followed by junior defensive specialist-libero Eva Mich (St. Peters, Mo./Francis Howell Central) with 24.  Redshirt sophomore sophomore setter Sarah McGinnis (Middleton, Wis./Edgewood), who set up 29 assists, contributed 14 digs while Emilee Schlader (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston) and freshman setter Sarah Cavanaugh (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Thunder Ridge) each dug up 10 UMSL attack attempts.  Cavanaugh chipped in with 23 assists for S&T, which is now 8-4 overall and 1-2 in the GLVC.  

UMSL's Kylie Rudsinski's 16 kills was among three Tritons with double-figure totals.  Megan Woll led all participants in the match with 40 digs and Alivia Brinker garnered 25 as five players cracked the double-digit digs total column for UMSL, which improved to 7-5 overall and 3-1 in the GLVC this season with the win.   
 
Set 1: UMSL 26 – S&T 24
The opening set, which consisted of nine tied scores and five lead exchanges, provided a clear indication of what was to transpire in the proceeding sets.  An early 7-4 S&T was erased as the two in-state teams battled one another to the end.  The ninth and final tie of the set came at the 24th-point mark after the Miners were on the verge of sealing the victory at 24-22 following a kill by Ellen Schulz (Wildwood, Mo./Eureka).  Unfortunately for S&T, the Tritons took advantage of their small window of opportunity as UMSL's Kylie Rudsinski compiled back-to-back kills to snap the 24-all deadlock and give the host team a 1-0 match lead. 
 
Set 2: S&T 25 – UMSL 23
The Miners trailed in the early stages, but claimed the upper hand for good by breaking up a 17-all tie thanks to a pair of UMSL attack errors by the same individual.  The Tritons pulled to within 24-23 on an Emilee Schlader (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston) attack error only to have Schlader redeem herself by recording the winning point via a kill as both teams struggled hitting efficiency (.087 by S&T's to UMSL's .045 percentage).   
 
Set 3: UMSL 25 – S&T 17
UMSL started out on an 8-2 run before the Miners came back to close the margin to 18-16 as a result of a Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic)' kill.  Five consecutive Triton points followed as the host team took a 23-16 lead.  Back-to-back S&T attack errors resulted in UMSL taking the third set.  
 
Set 4: S&T 27 – UMSL 25
Trailing 2-1 after three sets, the Miners bounced back to win a set which was neck-and-neck all of the way as evidenced a tie score 10 times to go with five lead changes. UMSL was on the verge of claiming the set at 25-24 after a S&T attack error, but the Miners refocused following a timeout to garner the next two points.  A Tritons' attack miscue knotted the set up at 25-apiece and a kill by Aly VanCardo (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh) put the visitors ahead at 26-25.  An UMSL setting error proceeded VanCardo's kill to account for S&T's set point.  

Set 5: UMSL 15 – S&T 12
The deciding set featured seven ties with the final one occuring at 11-all following an Emilee Schlader (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston) kill.  The Tritons would account for the next two points to take a 13-11 lead before S&T cut its deficit to one at 13-12 on an UMSL service error.  A Tritons' kill pushed the lead back to two (14-12) and then following a Miners' timeout, Selena Nolte delivered a kill for the match-winning point.  
 
Up Next: S&T concludes its weekend GLVC road trip to St. Louis, Mo., this Saturday (Sept. 15) as the Miners square off against the Maryville Saints at 3 p.m. (CT) inside MU's Moloney Arena. 
 
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