HILLSDALE, Mich. – Missouri S&T's volleyball team continued its strong start to the 2022 season, as it posted a season-best attack percentage to earn a straight-set win over 17
th-ranked Gannon Thursday on the opening day of the Hillsdale Net Results Tournament. S&T won the match 25-18, 25-19 and 25-14.
The Miners' fifth straight 3-0 win allowed them to match their best start in program history – the 2019 Miners also opened with five consecutive victories – and extended their run of consecutive sets won to a school record 15 by knocking off a Golden Knights' team that opened its season with three straight victories without dropping a set.
As was the case in their four wins last weekend at the Missouri-St. Louis Invitational, the Miners used balance on the offensive end and a solid defensive performance to earn the win. S&T hit .343 for the match and had three players in double figures in kills, while holding Gannon to a .065 mark on the other side of the net.
The Miners trailed briefly in early in set one, but took the lead for good at 3-2 and gradually pulled away during the set. S&T got six kills from
Abigail Widiker (Hammond, WI/Saint Croix Central) and outscored the Golden Knights 6-1 in the middle of the set; Widiker finished off the first set with kills on the Miners' final two points.
After spotting the Golden Knights the initial point in set two, the Miners rattled off the next eight with
Madison Offerman (Herscher, IL/Herscher) being responsible for three of them. Gannon was able to cut the lead down to three on two occasions midway through the set and trailed by four at 21-17, but a block by
Hannah Merjil (Bakersfield, CA/Garces Memorial) and
Shelby Ply (Rolla, MO/Rolla) kickstarted a finish to the set where S&T scored four of the final six points.
S&T never trailed in set three, racing out to a 6-0 lead that included two service aces by
Lexi Netherlain (Sullivan, IN/Sullivan) and allowing Gannon to get no closer than four for the balance of the match. The Miners pulled away with a 7-2 burst later in the third, getting two more service aces from Netherlain and closing out the win on a block by Ply.
The Miners hit .316 in the opening set, then posted a .353 mark in set two and a .370 attack percentage in the final set. Widiker and
Madelyn Mason (Mount Horeb, WI/Mount Horeb) each finished with a team-high 11 kills, while Ply had 10 and was also in on five of the team's eight bloks. Netherlain had four of S&T's six service aces, while
Annie Arand (Washington, MO/St. Francis Borgia) recorded 25 assists.
Missouri S&T will face two more ranked teams on Friday, taking on No. 14 Colorado School of Mines at 9 a.m., Central time and host Hillsdale, who is ranked at No. 22, in a 1 p.m. contest.
