KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Missouri S&T's volleyball team put an end to a four-game losing streak Saturday afternoon in emphatic fashion as it swept Truman State 3-0 for its first Great Lakes Valley Conference victory of the season.
The Miners (7-4, 1-1 GLVC) had lost a tough four-set match to undefeated Quincy on Thursday at Gibson Arena, but came out and controlled matters from the middle of the first set on as they swept an opponent for the sixth time this season.
S&T and Truman (0-10, 0-2 GLVC) went back and forth during the early stages of the first set, with the Bulldogs taking an 11-8 lead at one point. However, the Miners ran off five straight points – going into the lead at 12-11 following a kill by
Madelyn Mason (Mount Horeb, WI/Mount Horeb) – and never trailed again for the balance of the afternoon.
The Bulldogs stayed close throughout the rest of the opening set but after getting back to within one at 22-21, S&T got the serve back on a Truman service error and then got a service ace from
Lexi Netherlain (Sullivan, IN/Sullivan) and a kill by
Shelby Ply (Rolla, MO/Rolla) to close the set with a 25-21 advantage.
Truman hung close early in the second set that included five ties, but after knotting the score at 11, the Miners rattled off seven straight points capped by a pair of kills from
Abigail Widiker (Hammond, WI/Saint Croix Central) and another from Mason to seize control of the set. Widiker got the kill to finish a set where the Miners hit .344 and scored 14 of the final 19 points for the 25-16 win.
In the third set, S&T took a quick 4-0 lead and eventually built the lead to 11-1 as it dominated the set, hitting .433 in the process and holding the Bulldogs to a .062 mark. The Miners held leads of 17-3 and 21-7 at points in the final set that they eventually won 25-9.
Mason led the Miners with 12 kills, while Widiker recorded nine and Ply and
Jordan Burton (Olathe, KS/Olathe South) finished with eight apiece.
Hannah Merjil (Bakersfield, CA/Garces Memorial) recorded 21 assists and added seven digs, while Widiker had nine digs as the Miners finished the match with 33. S&T's defense held the Bulldogs to a .065 hitting percentage while ending the contest with a .296 mark on its own behalf.
Missouri S&T will return to action Friday when it hosts William Jewell at 6 p.m. at Gibson Arena.
