QUINCY, Ill. – The short weekend road trip for the Missouri S&T volleyball team wrapped up Saturday afternoon at Pepsi Arena in Quincy Illinois opposite Quincy University in GLVC action. Unfortunately for the Miners (8-3, 2-1) they couldn't carry over their momentum from Friday night into action against the Hawks (4-7, 1-2), falling in straight sets (20-25, 18-25, 21-25).
 
Quincy jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in set one and used that early momentum to carry them throughout. Missouri S&T looked to get back into things trailing by nine at 17-8, charging back to within three at 20-17 behind a 9-3 run led by Payton Gannaway (Lawrence, KS/Lawrence Free State), Avery Reed (Ste. Genevieve, MO/Ste. Genevieve) and Shelby Ply (Rolla, MO/Rolla), but the rally came up just short as the Hawks took set one 25-20.
 
Ply got the Miners on the board first in set two as the Miners held a five-point lead in the early going at 9-4 before the Hawks utilized a 6-0 sequence to take a lead they would never give back. Gannaway looked to try and lead the Miners back in the late going but again Quincy took the set, winning 25-18.
 
Looking to extend the afternoon, S&T again got on the board first in set three with back-to-back kills from Jordan Burton (Olathe, KS/Olathe South) and a Meiko Pearson (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley Northwest) ace. Despite taking the early, Quincy again kept within an arm's reach and chipped away to tie the set and take the lead, pulling away with a 7-1 to lead 17-14. Another late rally by S&T got them back within one at 19-18 on kills from Abigail Widiker (Hammond, WI/Saint Croix Central) and Burton, but the late surge wasn't enough as Quincy closed the match with a 25-21 set three win.
 
Burton finished the day with 12 kills to lead the team, while Gannaway became the sixth player in program history to surpass 1,000 career kills, recording 11 for the match along with eight digs and a service ace. Hannah Merjil (Bakersfield, CA/Garces Memorial) recorded 22 assists and six digs and was in on four blocks, while Pearson led the team with 19 digs. Lexi Netherlain (Sullivan, IN/Sullivan) and Reed also finished with double-digit digs, recording 16 and 11 respectively.
 
For Gannaway, she now has 1,001 kills in her Miner career, with 164 through 11 matches this season. She recorded 305 in the 2019 season and 288 during the spring 2021 campaign. Her first season with more than 100 kills came during her sophomore season in 2018, as she finished with 155. She joins Krista Haslag (2012-15, 1,306 kills), Carlie Combs (2015-19, 1,278) Erin Bekebrede (2008-2011, 1,243) Emilee Schlader (2016-19, 1,205) and Julie Meyer (2008-12, 1,008) as the only players to eclipse the milestone in a Missouri S&T jersey.
 
Up next for the Miners, they return home Tuesday night to Gibson Arena to host Drury in GLVC action, with first serve set for 7 P.M.