ROLLA, Mo. – After having to wait to see the impacts of Hurricane Idalia on the west coast of Florida, Missouri S&T's volleyball team will be able to head to the Sunshine State to open its season as scheduled as it will take part in the Tampa Classic this weekend in Tampa, Fla.

The Miners will get their season underway with a single game on Friday against 24^th-ranked Gannon at 3 p.m. (Eastern time), then will play twice on Saturday to wrap up the weekend.  The first game Saturday will be against fifth-ranked Tampa at 1:30 p.m., then the Miners will take on Central Missouri – another team that received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association's pre-season poll – at 4:30 p.m. to close the weekend in Florida.

S&T finished the 2022 campaign with a record of 16-9 and went 8-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.  The Miners were picked to finish in a tie for fourth in the GLVC this season with defending regular season champion Quincy and bring back a pair of all-conference performers in Shelby Ply (Rolla, MO/Rolla) and Jordan Burton (Olathe, KS/Olathe South).

Ply earned first-team All-GLVC laurels and all-region recognition following a year in which she recorded a .380 attack percentage on 215 kills, while also recording a team-high 95 blocks.  Burton finished the year as the team leader in kills with 295, two more than fellow returner Madelyn Mason (Mount Horeb, WI/Mount Horeb) and had a .219 attack percentage.

Missouri S&T had four players finish least season with at least 200 kills, the fourth being Abigail Widiker (Hammond, WI/Saint Croix Central) with 246.

The Miners also return middle blocker Madison Offerman (Herscher, IL/Herscher), who started in all 25 games and recorded 75 blocks along the way; setter Annie Arand (Washington, MO/St. Francis Borgia), who finished her freshman season with 306 assists; and libero Meiko Pearson (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley Northwest), who had 194 digs and 20 service aces last fall.  S&T has a roster that is made up of 12 returners overall and two newcomers, including Alina Carrillo (Oviedo, FL/Hagerty),  a transfer from Daytona State College.

ABOUT GANNON:  The Knights advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight last season following a 29-6 season before falling to Cal State LA in the national quarterfinals in Seattle.  One of the six losses, however, came at the hands of the Miners early in the season as S&T posted a straight-set win over the Knights at the Hillsdale Classic.

Gannon returns two honorable mention All-America selections in outside hitter Madde Blake and setter Bengisu Arslan, while also bringing back outside hitter Sam Deinek after a season in which she recorded 409 kills.  Blake had 354 kills and 390 digs last season, while Arslan finished the year with 1,244 assists or nearly 10 per set.

ABOUT TAMPA: The Spartans also return a pair of standouts in Mackenzie Defresne, who led all of NCAA Division II with a .454 attack percentage and Tess Schrenger, who was named as the Freshman of the Year in the South Region by the AVCA.  Schrenger had 290 kills and 252 digs on the defensive side last year.   Tampa finished last season with a 29-4, but lost in the South Regional championship game to Barry.

ABOUT CENTRAL MISSOURI: The Jennies have been a perennial power in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association and are coming off a season in which they finished 19-11 and 14-6 in the MIAA.  UCM, who will be under the direction of first-year head coach Caitlin Peterson, returns a pair of All-MIAA selections in middle blocker Grace Southern and outside hitter Kersti Nix, who had a combined 661 kills between them a year ago.  Southern also finished the season with a team-high 112 blocks.