ROLLA, Mo. - The S&T men's volleyball team defeated Maryville in straight sets, as the Miners won the first two sets 25-15 before ultimately taking down the Saints 25-22 in the final set to win the match and move to 3-0 at Gibson Arena.
In the first set, the teams swapped points through the early stages of the match with Maryville holding a 9-8 lead after an attack error by
Nate Meyer (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey). However, S&T responded with five straight points where
Caleb Rohlwing (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) first tied the set at 9-9 after his kill and
Brayden Kuruzovich (State College, Penn./State College Area School District) added a block as S&T took the 13-9 lead. With a three-point lead at 14-11, the Miners started a 4-0 run on a
Aaron Sallade (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd) kill, which was followed by an assisted block by
Grogan Kraus (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell North) and
Josh Duett (Grain Valley, Mo./Grain Valley)t to close the run with S&T up 18-11. S&T finished the set by outscoring Maryville 7-2 to win the set.
The Miners continued to show dominance in the second set by opening the set on a 9-0 run that was started on a kill from Kraus.
Aaron Sallade (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd) and Meyer each recorded a kill along the way and Kuruzovich had both of his service aces in the run. Maryville responded with three straight points that cut the deficit to six, but the Miners answered with four straight points with Meyer ending the run with a kill to increase the lead to 10. Maryville responded with a 3-0 run before S&T answered with a 5-1 spurt to increase the lead to 11 at 18-7 and cruised to the second set win.
In the third set, the team again went back-and-forth in the early stages until S&T had a 5-1 run where Meyer added back-to-back kills that gave the Miners a two-point lead at 9-7, then Duett later added a kill that gave S&T an 11-8 advantage. After a kill by Caden Klingbeil, S&T responded with three of the next four points to go up 14-10.
The Saints hung close, however, staying within striking distance but never overtaking the Miners in the set. Maryville was within one at 21-20 when back-to-back kills from Sallade and Duett made it 23-20. The Miners were able to take the set and match after a Cameron Chambers service error.
The Miners were led in kills by Meyer with nine while Sallade and Duett each added six apiece. Meyer and Kuruzovich each added two service aces as Kuruzovich dished out 24 assists and added two kills. On the defensive side, Sallade led S&T with five digs and
Andres Hernandez (Bedford, Texas/Trinity), Kuruzovich and Duett each contributed three digs; Kraus led with three assisted blocks.
The Saints were led in kills by Klingbeil with five as four Saints recorded four kills each. Chambers led Maryville with 23 assists while tying Avery Pohlman with a team-high three digs.
Head Coach Andy Halaz said "Brayden distributed the ball very well tonight, setting up six hitters. It is always great to have our home crowd behind us and cheering us on."
The Miners will begin a four-game road trip starting with McKendree this Friday at 7 p.m. in Lebanon, Ill.
