ROLLA, Mo. – The Missouri S&T volleyball team will take a short break from their Great Lakes Valley Conference slate this weekend but will not see a decrease in competition as they prepare to take part in the 2021 Midwest Regional Crossover in Hammond, Indiana. S&T is slated to face Saginaw Valley and Michigan Tech Friday before closing out the event against Walsh on Saturday.
 
The Miners (12-5, 6-3) head into the crossover tied with Rockhurst atop the GLVC West Division after splitting matches last weekend with Illinois Springfield and then #13 Lewis. S&T knocked off the Prairie Stars in five sets Friday night but were unable to pace the Flyers on Saturday, falling in straight sets.
 
Payton Gannaway (Lawrence, KS/Lawrence Free State) continues to lead the way on offensive and is closing in on the 250-kill mark for the season, standing at 243 entering the weekend, the second-most in the GLVC. Gannaway is also among the best in NCAA Division II this season in the service game, as her 39 aces are tied for second in the country. Jordan Burton (Olathe, KS/Olathe South) and Shelby Ply (Rolla, MO/Rolla) are both over the century mark in kills this season as well, with the former sitting at 185 and the latter at 119. Hannah Merjil (Bakersfield, CA/Garces Memorial) has settled in as the primary setter for the Miners as the season has progressed and is fast approaching 500 assists for the season with 476 in 17 matches. Katarina Seres (Belgrade, Serbia/Ninth Gymnasium) has also seen time as the setter this season and has 151 assists to her credit.
 
Defensively, Meiko Pearson (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley Northwest) leads the Miners in digs with 228 while Gannaway ranks second with 138 and Merjil third with 136. Lexi Netherlain (Sullivan, IN/Sullivan) is also over 100 digs for the season with 115. Kiernan O'Boyle (Kansas City, MO/St. Teresa's Academy) ranks among the GLVC leaders in blocks with 64, as does Shelby Ply (Rolla, MO/Rolla) with 63. Gannaway and Merjil have 44 and 33 to their credit as the Miners lead the conference in blocks with 158.
 
Hailing from the GLIAC, Saginaw Valley (11-4, 3-4) has posted wins over Grand Valley State and Davenport in their last two matches after dropping three-straight to open the month. The Cardinals have three players with 100 kills or better this season, led by Maria Vukaj with 169 and joined by Madison Thompson and Rylee Zimmer with 113 and 100 respectively. Payton Gerstacker serves as SVSU's setter and has dished out 506 assists this season while also recording 168 digs. Three other Cardinals have better than 1740 digs this season, led by Vkaj with 195 and followed by Kelsey Vittitow (176) and Caitlinn Pisto (173). Olivia Waszak is the team leader in blocks this season with 64, while Zimmer has 54 and Haley clum has 52, including a team-leading nine solo blocks.
 
Also from the GLIAC, Michigan Tech (12-4, 7-1) sits atop the league's North Division standings and has won their last seven matches, six in straight sets, coming into this weekend. Anna Jonynas leads the Huskies' offense with 233 kills while Jillian Kuizenga (151 kills) and Olivia Ghormley (118 kills) are also key pieces on that side of the ball. Laura De Marchi helps facilitate that group's production with 571 assists this season, while Line Espejo-Ramirez is closing in on 100 assists for the season. Carissa Beyer leads Michigan Tech with 230 digs while Jonynas (189), Megan Utlak (166), De Marchi (144) and Grace Novotny (104) are all over the century mark in that category. Kaycee Meiners leads the club in blocks with 37 and is tied for the team lead with eight solo efforts, while four other players have at least 20 blocks each.
 
G-MAC foe Walsh (10-6, 6-3) awaits S&T Saturday afternoon is currently in the midst of a six-game winning streak and coming off back-to-back straight set wins over Ashland and Tiffin. The Cavaliers are third in the G-MAC North Division and are led by Olivia Maczuzak and her 224 kills. Grace Lindquist and Alexis Gilland are both also over 100 kills for on the season with 136 and 116 respectively. Olivia Kearns runs the offense from her setter spot and has 612 assists this season along with 183 digs. Sam Wentz leads the Cavaliers with 191 digs and is one of six players who have 120 or more digs on the season. Amber King has been the leader defensively at the net and leads the team with 50 totals blocks, while Lindquist has 37 blocks, including a team-high nine solos.
 
Missouri S&T is 0-3 all-time against Saginaw Valley, with the last meeting between the two schools coming in 2014 and resulting a in 3-0 win for the Cardinals. The Miners have only faced Michigan Tech once and not since 2014, which saw the Green & Gold pick up a 3-1 win. S&T has also only ever faced Walsh one time, that coming in the 2019 Midwest Regional Crossover and resulting in a 3-1 over the Cavaliers.