SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – On the road for the final time in the regular season, the Missouri S&T volleyball was on the court at the O'Reilly Family Events Center Saturday for their second matchup of the season against Drury. The Miners (19-10, 12-6) won the first two sets of the day before dropping the third to the Panthers (20-11, 10-8) and answered by winning a hard-fought set four to close the regular season out with a 3-1 victory (25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23).
 
S&T got out to the early lead in set one as Abigail Widiker (Hammond, WI/Saint Croix Central) served up an ace to open the afternoon. A pair of kills from Burton and one from Merjil along with a DU error made it 6-2 Miners early. The Green & Gold were able to add to their lead as the set progressed, getting kills from Payton Gannaway (Lawrence, KS/Lawrence Free State) and back-to-back aces from Kiernan O'Boyle (Kansas City, MO/St. Teresa's Academy) to lead by seven at 13-6. A late push by the Panthers got them within three late at 22-19 but a Shelby Ply (Rolla, MO/Rolla) kill and two more Widier aces closed out the set with a 25-19 Miner win.
 
The Miners again scored first in set two and raced out to a quick 8-2 lead behind kills from O'Boyle, Ply, Gannaway and two Hannah Merjil (Bakersfield, CA/Garces Memorial) aces. The lead continued to grow as the points passed as it was all S&T who led by as much as 12 at 18-6. Drury was able to get within three points in the closing moments of the action, but the Miners were not to be denied the set win, as Gannaway recorded a kill to take the 25-20 win and 2-0 match lead.
 
The Miners had visions of ending the afternoon in straight sets as the third stanza began, again scoring first on a Burton kill and leading 8-4 through the first 12 points. The Panthers, however, had other ideas, as they battled back and kept within reach of S&T, tying the set at 10-10. A 4-0 burst by the Miners put the Miners back in front but again Drury didn't allow the visitors to pull away.
 
Gannaway led the Miners with a double-double of 18 kills and 13 digs while Ply finished with 12 kills, four digs and three blocks. Burton finished with 10 kills while O'Boyle added seven and four blocks. Merjil dished out 49 assists along with six digs and four blocks. Meiko Pearson (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley Northwest) led the Miners with 17 digs while Lexi Netherlain (Sullivan, IN/Sullivan) added 13 of her own. Trailing 21-19, DU scored three-straight to make it 22-21 and pivot the momentum in their favor. S&T tried to stop the comeback, but the Panthers managed to complete the comeback and get on the board with a 25-23 win to get on the board.
 
Riding the momentum from set three, Drury scored first and led early as set four commenced. The Miners, looking to atone for dropping a close decision in set three, leaned on Gananway to keep them close in the early going. After a Drury kill made it 10-8 in favor of the home team, S&T scored the next points behind kills from Burton and Ply in combination with several DU miscues to take the lead 14-10. As the intensity picked up, the Panthers made the Miners work to maintain their advantage. An ace from O'Boyle made it a four-point lead late at 20-16, but DU charged back with the next five points to retake the lead 21-20, looking to force a fifth set. Ply and Widiker had other intentions as back-to-back kills from the duo and two Drury errors put S&T back ahead 24-21. The last gasp from Drury got them within one at 24-23 but a block from Ply and Merjil on the following point wrapped things up 25-23 to clinch the match for the Miners 3-1.
 
Up next for the Miners, the 2021 Great Lakes Valley Conference Volleyball Championships in East Peoria, Illinois. S&T finished second the GLVC West Division and will enter this year's event as the number four seed. The full bracket will be announced by the conference office later this evening.