KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Missouri S&T volleyball team was back on the road Friday night as they continued Great Lakes Valley Conference play against Truman State at Pershing Arena. The Miners (8-2, 2-0) controlled the evening from start to finish, making quick work of the Bulldogs (2-9, 0-2) as they picked up the win in straight sets (25-16, 25-22, 25-23) to pick up their second conference win of the season.
 
Payton Gannaway (Lawrence, KS/Lawrence Free State) opened the festivities in set one with a kill before Avery Reed (Ste. Genevieve, MO/Ste. Genevieve) posted two of her own as the Miners raced out to a 4-2 lead. Truman State hung around in the early going, keeping within reach until a 4-0 run led by Jordan Burton (Olathe, KS/Olathe South) pushed S&T in front for good 9-5. Missouri S&T led for the remaining balance of the set and continued to extend their lead until a service ace from Lexi Netherlain (Sullivan, IN/Sullivan) wrapped up the set 25-16.
 
The Bulldogs notched the first tally in set two and managed to hold the Miners at bay and lead through the opening stages of the set before S&T went on a 5-0 run behind kills from Gannaway and Reed along with an ace from Netherlain and a pair of errors by the Bulldogs to lead 13-9. The Green & Gold held their lead until the end of the frame despite Truman State getting within one at 21-20, but the rally would not make it all the way back as a kill from Gannaway capped the set with a 25-22 win for the Miners.
 
Truman State again found the scoreboard first in the third set of the night and again briefly led in the early going before succumbing to a pair of errors to allow the Miners to take the lead before an ace and kill from Gannaway made it 6-3. Missouri S&T used a 5-0 run started by Hannah Merjil (Bakersfield, CA/Garces Memorial) that also included two kills from Burton to make it 12-6. The Bulldogs were determined to not go quietly into the night, and again rallied to get back within one at 15-14 but were never able to tie or take the lead, as S&T weathered the surge and went on to close out the set 25-23 on an Abigail Widiker (Hammond, WI/Saint Croix Central) service ace to wrap up the night with a straight sets win.
 
Gannaway posted 12 kills to lead the team and also added five digs and a trio of service aces. Burton finished with 10 kills and four digs, while Reed and Shelby Ply (Rolla, MO/Rolla) finished with seven and six kills each. Merjil dished out 25 assists in the match and Meiko Pearson (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley Northwest) carded 13 digs. As a team, S&T recorded 10 service aces, a new single-match high this season.
 
The Miners wrap up their weekend road trip with a stop in Quincy, Illinois Saturday to take on the Hawks in a match scheduled for 3 P.M.