ST. LOUIS, Mo. – After dropping a grueling third set that went 32-30 and put it in a 2-1 hole in the match, Missouri S&T's volleyball team bounced back and won the final two sets – including a rally from a three-point deficit – to pick up a critical Great Lakes Valley Conference win Saturday afternoon as it outlasted Maryville 3-2 at Moloney Arena. The win also allowed the Miners to clinch a spot in the GLVC Tournament that will take place later this month.
The Miners (15-9, 6-5 GLVC) had four set point opportunities in the third set to go up in the match, but Maryville staved off all four and then closed out the set on a block by Ella Brinkmann and Grace Knadler. But undeterred, the Miners rebounded in set four as they used a 6-0 run to gain control of the stanza. S&T took its first lead in the set on a kill by
Madelyn Mason (Mount Horeb, WI/Mount Horeb) and also got two service aces along the way from
Annie Arand (Washington, MO/St. Francis Borgia).
The teams went back-and-forth in the early stages of the decisive fifth set, but a four-point run gave Maryville the lead at the changeover and then grew to three immediately afterwards. S&T had an answer, starting with kills from
Jordan Burton (Olathe, KS/Olathe South) and
Hannah Feltz (Wildwood, MO/Eureka) to cut the lead to one, before Feltz and
Elise Mehaffy (Marion, IA/Marion) combined on a block to tie the score at nine.
Feltz delivered another kill to put the Miners into the lead and S&T never trailed again, although Maryville did tie the set twice before the Miners went up for good at 12-11 on a Mason kill. The teams traded the next four points before a service error by the Saints ended the match.
Maryville (15-10, 6-5 GLVC) used a four- and five-point run in set one to win 25-20, as the Saints hit .270 in the set to S&T's .023. The Miners turned the tables in set two as they hit .290 to Maryville's .100 to win 25-16, as they took control with a 5-0 run late in the set highlighted by three blocks involving
Shelby Ply (Rolla, MO/Rolla), two with Mehaffy and the third with
Alina Carrillo (Oviedo, FL/Hagerty).
S&T hit .167 in the match, but got 21 kills from Carrillo as she was among four Miners in double figures in that department. Ply finished with 14 kills and nine block assists, while Burton recorded 13 kills and Mason finished with 10. The Miners had 12 blocks in the match and also finished with 12 service aces, five courtesy of Carrillo and four by
Abigail Widiker (Hammond, WI/Saint Croix Central).
With Saturday's win, the Miners not only clinched a berth to the GLVC tournament but have also moved into a three-way tie for fifth place in the GLVC standings with two games remaining and S&T owns wins over the two teams -- Indianapolis and Maryville -- that it is tied with.
Missouri S&T will play its final GLVC regular season weekend on the road, beginning with Friday's 6 p.m. match against Upper Iowa in Fayette, Iowa.
