ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's women's volleyball team put a halt to a three-game losing streak Saturday afternoon by posting a .291 attack percentage to down William Jewell in straight sets in a Great Lakes Valley Conference contest at Gibson Arena.
The Miners (9-7, 2-4 GLVC), who had dropped all three of the games in the skid in five sets, had one of their better offensive performances number-wise as they picked up their second straight set win in conference play.
S&T got out to a bit of a slow start on Saturday and trailed 10-8 early in the opening set, but went on 5-1 run to take the lead for good.
Jordan Burton (Olathe, KS/Olathe South) had back-to-back kills to first tie the set, then put the Miners into the lead at 12-11. Jewell had the lead down to one at 14-13 before a Cardinal service error started a 9-2 surge – which included three kills by
Alina Carrillo (Oviedo, FL/Hagerty) – to pull away for the eventual 25-18 win.
The Miners grabbed the lead early in the second set, then ran off a 7-2 run later that allowed them to build an eight-point advantage. The Cardinals (6-12, 1-5 GLVC) tried to make a late run at the Miners in the set as they closed to withing two at 23-21, but consecutive kills by Carrillo put the set away in S&T's favor.
The third set saw it take a while for the Miners to shake the Cardinals, but with the score tied at 10, the Miners scored six of the next eight points to go up by four. S&T eventually built its lead to 22-17, but the Cardinals scored three straight points to get to within two prior to a Carrillo block to stop that run. Jewell scored the next point to trim it to two again, but kills by
Madelyn Mason (Mount Horeb, WI/Mount Horeb) and Carrillo ended the contest.
Carrillo led all players with 13 kills in the match and hit .400 along the way, while Burton finished the afternoon with 11 kills.
Shelby Ply (Rolla, MO/Rolla) had nine kills and also had a hand in two of S&T's three blocks, while
Elise Mehaffy (Marion, IA/Marion) and
Annie Arand (Washington, MO/St. Francis Borgia) combined almost equally for 43 assists and
Mia Alessio (Channahon, IL/Minooka) ended the match with 14 digs.
Missouri S&T will take part in the Midwest Regional Crossover next Friday and Saturday in Hammond, Ind.; its opponents in the event will be announced on Sunday.
