Lebanon, Ill. – For the second consecutive time, the Missouri S&T women's volleyball dropped a four-set match as the Miners suffered a 3-1 loss (19-25, 19-25, 25-20, 12-25) to McKendree this Saturday (Sept. 29) afternoon in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action at MU's Harry M. Statham Sports Center.

The setback drops Missouri S&T's overall record to 10-7 this season while the Miners are now 3-5 in conference play.

Paving the way offensively for S&T were junior outside hitter Emilee Schlader (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston) and senior outside hitter Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic), who each recorded a match-best 17 kills.  Senior right-side hitter Ellen Schulz (Wildwood, Mo./Eureka) chipped in with six kills as the Miners garnered a 46-43 edge. 

Redshirt sophomore setter Sarah McGinnis (Middleton, Wis./Edgewood) compiled 19 assists to set up the Miner hitting attack, which totaled a .069 percentage for the contest.  Sophomore setter Aubrey Sowers (Coralville, Iowa/Iowa City West) supplied 15 assists in a reserve capacity.  Junior defensive specialist-libero Corinne Stulce (St. Charles, Mo./Duchesne) was the lone S&T player to reach the double-figure digs plateau with 21 total.  A trio of Miners, Emilee Schlader (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston) along with Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) and Sarah McGinnis (Middleton, Wis./Edgewood) added nine digs apiece.

The Miners, who accumulated 11 total team blocks, received six block assists from senior middle hitter Carson Talley (St. Louis, Mo./Affton) while freshman middle hitter Kiernan O'Boyle (Kansas City, Mo./St. Teresa's Academy) contributed five block assists.

McKendree, which improved to 9-8 overall and 5-3 in the GLVC as a result of the win, was led by Hope Gramly's 12 kills.  Alissa Zeitelhack was the Bearcats' top performer on the defensive side with a match-high 22 digs and Megan Marks had seven block assists, which also represented the highest total in the conference encounter.
 
Set 1: MU 25 – S&T 19
The Bearcats snapped a 12-all tie by scoring four unanswered points to register a 16-12 lead, but S&T tallied the next three to get within a point (16-15) and did so again at 17-16.  However, the Miners were unable to pull into a tie as McKendree went on a 6-2 scoring run to make it 23-18.  A Bearcat kill followed by a ball handling error closed out the opening set. 
 
Set 2: MU 25 – S&T 19
The two teams duplicated their respective points total from set one as McKendree turned in a match set-best .357 hitting percentage with 13 kills in 28 attempts while the Miners finished at a .139 clip.  The set was knotted up at 8-8 before the Bearcats outscored S&T 13-4 to lead 21-12.  The Miners would narrow the gap to six points twice and then to five points at 24-19 at set point via a Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic)' kill.  But, MU was credited with the set-clinching point on a S&T attack error.   

Set 3: S&T 25 – MU 20
In set three, S&T recorded its best hitting percentage of the match with a .222 attack efficiency mark and subsequently resulted in paying dividends.  The Miners jumped out to a 15-8 lead and held the advantage for the remainder.  McKendree managed to close to within a deuce at 22-20 before S&T ran off three straight points to take the win as the Miners received kills from Ellen Schulz (Wildwood, Mo./Eureka) and Emilee Schlader (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston) to go with a Bearcat ball-handling miscue for the final margin.

Set 4: MU 25 – S&T 12
S&T started the fourth set out well and led 10-9 early.  However, the Bearcats scored the next four points to claim a 13-10 advantage.  An Emilee Schlader (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston) kill cut S&T deficit to 13-12 but the Miners didn't score another point as McKendree erupted for 12 consecutive points to end the set.     
 
Up Next: The three-match road swing for Missouri S&T wraps up this Tuesday, Oct. 2, as the Miners visit the nationally 10th-ranked Drury Panthers in GLVC competition at Springfield, Mo.  A 7 p.m. (CT) start is scheduled for the instate matchup at DU's O'Reilly Family Event Center  
 
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