ROLLA, Mo. – The Missouri S&T volleyball wrapped up host duties Saturday at Gibson arena on day two of the 2021 Miner Invitational with a pair of matches opposite Arkansas-Monticello in the second session of the day before concluding the event with the 10th and final match of the weekend against Missouri Western. The Miners (3-1) made quick work of the Cotton Blossoms (1-3) in their first match, winning in straight sets (25-18, 25-16, 25-21) before winning a four-set thriller over Missouri Western (3-1) (25-21, 20-25, 25-18, 25-21).
 
The morning started about as good as it could have for the home team, scoring the first nine points of the match to take control right away, in large part by taking advantage of several UAM error while seeing offensive contributions from Jordan Burton (Olathe, KS/Olathe South) and Kiernan O'Boyle (Kansas City, MO/St. Teresa's Academy). The Miners led by as much as 12 in the first frame of the day before the Cottom Blossoms managed to get within five at 22-17, but the rally would not make it all the way back as a pair of errors and a Shelby Ply (Rolla, MO/Rolla) kill wrapped things up with a 25-18 win.
 
S&T again took the early lead in the second stanza of the match, scoring 10 of the first 12 points in large part thanks to the trio of Payton Gannaway (Lawrence, KS/Lawrence Free State), Burton and Ply. Avery Reed (Ste. Genevieve, MO/Ste. Genevieve), Gannaway, and Burton added three more kills following a service miscue by the home team to extend the lead to 10 at 13-3. As the set progressed, UAM again looked to rally the waning moments of the action and got the Miner lead down to seven at 22-15, but as was the case in set one, it wasn't enough as S&T closed out a 25-16 win.
 
The Cotton Blossoms came out as the aggressors in the third set, as they led coming out of the gates before the Miners came back to even things at 5-5. After exchanging a few points back and forth, S&T stepped on the gas with a 7-0 run behind kills from Burton and Hannah Merjil (Bakersfield, CA/Garces Memorial) and were aided by a series of UAM miscues to make it 14-7. Arkansas-Monticello continued to display resiliency and grit as they again continued to hang around as the set progressed into the latter stages, but couldn't get closer than two as S&T claimed the set 25-21.
 
Gannaway led the way with 13 kills while Burton had 11 of her own. Merjil and Katarina Seres (Belgrade, Serbia/Ninth Gymnasium) again dished out double-figure assists, with 18 and 14 respectively. Meiko Pearson (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley Northwest) led the way defensively with 12 digs while as a unit, the Miners recorded 10 blocks.
 
The final match of the weekend opposite Missouri Western was an early favorite for match of the year. The Griffons took the early 3-0 lead to begin the evening before battling back to tie the match and take the lead at 9-6 following an error. S&T continued to apply pressure on the opposition, getting contributions on offence from Payton Gannaway (Lawrence, KS/Lawrence Free State), Jordan Burton (Olathe, KS/Olathe South) and Shelby Ply (Rolla, MO/Rolla) and leading by as much six during the course of the frame. A late rally by Missouri Western got them back within two at 20-18 but no further as the Miners went on to close the set out with a 25-21 win.
 
The Griffons again took the early lead to start the second set and led 8-4 after the first 12 points, but the Miners answered by taking advantage of some Griffon miscues and getting an ace from Gannaway and kill by Avery Reed (Ste. Genevieve, MO/Ste. Genevieve) to tie things up. Things continued to go back-and-forth as the two sides struggled to gain an edge until at 15-14, the visitors scored five-straight to retake the lead for good and claim a 25-20 set win.
 
Set three saw the Green & Gold take the early lead before Missouri Western went on a 5-0 run to lead 7-4. They continued to lead until a pair of Burton kills sandwiched around a Griffon error made it 16-14. S&T made that lead stick through the end of the set, paced by Burton, Gannaway and Reed to take the set 25-18.
 
Things would not come easy to start set four for S&T as they looked to close out the evening with a win, as MWSU scored five of the first eight to lead out of the gates. A 4-1 sequence from the Miners powered by Shelby Ply (Rolla, MO/Rolla), Burton and Gannaway made it 10-8 but the Griffons would not go quietly into the night, as they rallied to back ahead by five at 17-12. The Miners answered in kind with a 6-1 run to even the score back up as the set moved into its latter stages. After a Griffon kill briefly put them ahead 21-20, the Miners scored the night's final five points to wrap things up with a 25-20 win.
 
Gannaway led the way again with 17 kills en route to a double-double with 11 digs, with Burton adding 16 of her own. Avery Reed (Ste. Genevieve, MO/Ste. Genevieve) posted a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs on the evening. Hannah Merjil (Bakersfield, CA/Garces Memorial) logged 30 assists while Katarina Seres (Belgrade, Serbia/Ninth Gymnasium) recored 12 more during the evening. Four different players recorded double-figure digs, led by Lexi Netherlain (Sullivan, IN/Sullivan) with 16 while Meiko Pearson (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley Northwest) carded 13.
 
Up next for the Miners, they head east for the UIndy Invitational, hosted by the University of Indianapolis. The Miners play Bemidji State first thing Friday morning at 9 A.M. before taking on Wheeling at 7 P.M.
 
Miner Invitational All-Tournament Team
M Ali Tauchen (Missouri Western) – MVP
RS Allie Kerns (Missouri Western)
S Jenna Boland (Missouri Western)
RS Payton Gannaway (Lawrence, KS/Lawrence Free State) (Missouri S&T)
OH Avery Reed (Ste. Genevieve, MO/Ste. Genevieve) (Missouri S&T)
OH Jordan Burton (Olathe, KS/Olathe South) (Missouri S&T)
L Charisma Herr (Upper Iowa)
OH Maddie Rettler (Upper Iowa)
L Katelyn Richbourg (Arkansas-Monticello)