ROLLA, Mo. – Two teams currently sitting at the opposite ends of the Great Lakes Valley Conference are on tap for Missouri S&T's women's volleyball team this weekend as the Miners return to conference action following a 2-1 weekend at the Midwest Regional Crossover.

S&T will open the weekend with a matchup against fourth-ranked and undefeated Missouri-St. Louis on Friday at 6 p.m. in St. Louis, then head across the river Saturday to take on McKendree in Lebanon, Ill., in a match that will get underway at 4:30 p.m.

The Miners picked up wins over Cedarville and Northern Michigan at the crossover to improve to 11-8 on the season and now head into the second half of their GLVC schedule this weekend, of which five of their last seven games will be away from home.  S&T is 2-4 in the GLVC as it heads into the contest with the defending NCAA Midwest Regional champions.

S&T has been placed along the front line by a trio of players, as Madelyn Mason (Mount Horeb, WI/Mount Horeb) leads the team with 254 kills and Jordan Burton (Olathe, KS/Olathe South) is a close second with 226.  Shelby Ply (Rolla, MO/Rolla) has 178 kills and also leads S&T with 69 blocks, two more than Mason, while recording a .345 attack percentage.

Alina Carrillo (Oviedo, FL/Hagerty) has 130 kills and a team-leading 27 service aces, as well as being one of being one of three Miners with at least 200 digs on the year with 213.  Mia Alessio (Channahon, IL/Minooka) has 238 to lead S&T and Meiko Pearson (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley Northwest) has made 216, while Annie Arand (Washington, MO/St. Francis Borgia) has a team-leading 425 assists.

ABOUT MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS: The Tritons won all three of their matches at the crossover to retain their No. 4 national ranking in the AVCA/Taraflex poll and enter the weekend with the top attack percentage in the GLVC at .288.  Mya Elliott has a .388 mark that ranks third in the conference and Hailey Flowers is eighth in that department at .338.   The Tritons also have the GLVC leader in assists in Caitlin Bishop with 12.1 per set, while Lexie Rang ranks fourth in kills with 271 and Delaney Humm is right behind her with 257.

UMSL has won its last 15 GLVC contests and last 12 matches on its home floor since the Miners beat the Tritons in a non-conference match to open the 2022 season.

ABOUT McKENDREE: The Bearcats own a record above the .500 mark on the season at 10-9 after going 3-0 at the crossover, but are still seeking their first win in conference play as they are 0-5 in the GLVC heading into their match Friday against Maryville.  Colleen Preusser has a team-high 207 kills and Emma McIlhargie has recorded 176, but the Bearcats are hitting just .181 as a team.  Amber Williams is fifth in the conference with an average of 10.3 assists per set and Lauren McCurley is eighth in blocks with 50 on the year.