ROLLA, MO- The Miners moved to 3-1 tonight after a three-set sweep of the Bearcats of Southwest Baptist (25-19, 25-13, 25-9).

In the first set, SBU had the lead for the majority of the game, getting as much as a 16-12 lead after a kill and service ace from Rachel Pfeifer and an error from the Miners. But, Payton Gannaway (Lawrence, Kan./Lawrence Free State) would start an S&T 10-1 run that would give the Miners the 23-18 lead off a kill from Avery Reed (Ste. Genevieve, Mo./Ste. Genevieve). The Bearcats got one more point off an S&T error, but Shelby Ply (Rolla, Mo./Rolla) put down back-to-back kills to end the set with a 25-19 Miner win and a 1-0 lead in the match.

 S&T struggled to break away from the Bearcats in the second set; after taking a 7-2 lead off a kill from Jordan Burton (Olathe, Kansas/Olathe South Senior High). From there, SBU get within two of the Miners with consecutive blocks from Rachel Francis and Ashley Lasher.

After back and forth scoring, the Miners were able to pull away from Southwest Baptist with an 11-3 run to close out the set. Back-to-back kills from Payton Gannaway (Lawrence, Kan./Lawrence Free State) and Avery Reed (Ste. Genevieve, Mo./Ste. Genevieve) gave S&T the 25-13 set two win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Miners wasted no time taking control in the third set. Looking at a 4-3 lead, S&T went on an 11-3 run that saw kills from Shelby Ply (Rolla, Mo./Rolla), Avery Reed (Ste. Genevieve, Mo./Ste. Genevieve), and Hannah Merjil (Bakersfield, CA/Garces Memorial) to extend their lead out to 14-4. S&T would then outscore the Bearcats 11-5 and get the 25-9 set three win, and 3-0 win in the match, off a kill from Payton Gannaway (Lawrence, Kan./Lawrence Free State).

Gannaway and Reed led the way for the Miners tonight with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while they both lead the team in digs with eight and 12.  All hitters for S&T tonight hit positive with Kiernan O'Boyle (Kansas City, Mo./St. Teresa's Academy) hitting .455 on seven kills, two errors, and 11 attempts.

Hannah Merjil (Bakersfield, CA/Garces Memorial) and Katarina Seres (Belgrade, Serbia/Ninth Gymnasium) split duties in the setter position, handing out a combined 28 assists while Shelby Ply (Rolla, Mo./Rolla), Meiko Pearson (Overland Park, Kansas/Blue Valley Northwest), and Aubrey Sowers (Coralville, Iowa/Iowa City West) all recording one assist each.

As a team, Missouri S&T (3-1, 3-1 GLVC) finished the game hitting .364 with 41 kills. They recorded 36 digs, eight service aces, and five blocks. They held Southwest Baptist (1-2, 1-2 GLVC) to just .107 hitting.