ROLLA, Mo. – After extending Thursday's Great Lakes Valley Conference opener to a fourth set, Missouri S&T's volleyball let a lead in that set slip away as Quincy came away with a 3-1 win over the Miners at Gibson Arena.
Quincy, who improved to 11-0 with the win, took the first two set by counts of 25-19 and 25-18 before the Miners caught fire in the third set. Hitting .333 with just one attack in the third, the Miners went toe-to-toe with the Hawks in that set to take it 26-24.
The Miners (6-4) led for a good portion of the third set, using a run of six straight points during
Lexi Netherlain's (Sullivan, IN/Sullivan) serve early on to take the lead. S&T built as much a five-point lead in the third, going up 12-7 following a combined block by
Hannah Merjil (Bakersfield, CA/Garces Memorial) and
Shelby Ply (Rolla, MO/Rolla). Quincy scored six of the next seven points to tie it at 13, then the Miners took a three-point lead moments later following a side out by the Hawks.
S&T led 23-21 in the set before the Hawks took advantage of a service error and got two kills from Mattison Norris to reach match point. But a kill by
Abigail Widiker (Hammond, WI/Saint Croix Central) sparked a quick three-point run for S&T to win the third, capped by a block by
Madelyn Mason (Mount Horeb, WI/Mount Horeb) to close it out.
After the teams traded points during the early stages of the fourth set, the Miners went on a 7-0 run on Widiker's serve to take an 18-10 lead. Ply had three kills for S&T during that run as it threatened to force a decisive fifth set.
However, the Hawks clawed back and made a 5-0 run of their own to take the lead back at 21-20, then after the Miners tied it at 21 on a kill by Mason, the Hawks scored the next three points to again force match point. S&T held off two match points on kills by WIdiker and Mason, but the Hawks got a kill from Norris to take the set 25-23 and the match.
The Miners hit .214 for the match and had three players with double figures in kills, led by Ply's 16.
Jordan Burton (Olathe, KS/Olathe South) finished the night with 12 kills and Widiker finished with 10. S&T also got 23 assists from
Hannah Merjil (Bakersfield, CA/Garces Memorial) and 46 digs in the match, led by Widiker's 10.
Missouri S&T will head to the road Saturday to continue conference play as it takes on Truman State at 3 p.m. in Kirksville, Mo.
