TAMPA, Fla. – Missouri S&T's women's volleyball fell short in a tough battle Friday afternoon with 24
th-ranked Gannon, as the Knights took the season opener 3-1 in the Tampa University Classic. Gannon won the opening set 29-27, then after S&T won 25-21 in set two, the Knights took the final two sets by counts of 26-24 and 25-22.
The Miners opened Friday's match by spotting the first point to the Knights and then running off six straight points to take an early 6-1 lead. S&T led by as many as seven points in the first set – going up 13-6 after a kill by
Jordan Burton (Olathe, KS/Olathe South) – but Gannon gradually clawed back into the set and used an 8-3 spurt later in the set to take the lead at 24-23.
The teams traded the next seven points, with the Miners taking a one-point lead three different times along the way and going up 27-26 following a Gannon service error. However, the Knights scored the final three points of the set to overtake the Miners to capture set one.
S&T led from start to finish in set two, getting a pair of kills from
Madelyn Mason (Mount Horeb, WI/Mount Horeb) to open it and taking a six-point lead at 12-6. The Miners enjoyed four more six-point advantages in the set, going up 13-7 on a kill by
Elise Mehaffy (Marion, IA/Marion), 17-11 after a combined block by Mason and
Shelby Ply (Rolla, MO/Rolla), 18-12 following a Gannon attack error and the last at 24-18 when Ply and
Alina Carrillo (Oviedo, FL/Hagerty) combined on a block.
The third set was close throughout, as the teams were tied on 12 occasions and exchanged the lead seven times. The Miners had as much as a four-point lead in the set at 16-12 following a kill by
Hannah Feltz (Wildwood, MO/Eureka), but the Knights scored six straight points to regain the lead. S&T had a 23-21 lead in the set, but Gannon scored three straight points before committing a service error on set point. However, the Knights scored the final two points to close out the set to go up 2-1 in the match.
Set four was almost identical to the third set with 12 ties and six lead changes along the way. Gannon held the lead for much of the first half of the set, but the Miners knotted the score at 12 on a Burton kill and later grabbed the lead at 16-15 after an error by the Knights. S&T led 20-19 before Gannon scored three straight points to take the lead for good.
S&T had three players finish in double figures in the kills department, as Burton led the way with 13. Mason recorded 12 kills in the contest and added four blocks, while Ply finished with 11 kills and five blocks.
Annie Arand (Washington, MO/St. Francis Borgia) and Mehaffy combined for 43 assists from the setter position, while Carrillo had 17 digs and
Meiko Pearson (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley Northwest) finished with 13.
The Miners recorded a .323 attack percentage in the opening set, but ended the contest at .192 to Gannon's .260. Much of the damage done on the offensive side by the Knights was from Journey Blevins, who led all players with 23 kills and Hailey Koch who had 15.
Missouri S&T will play twice on Saturday, facing fifth-ranked Tampa in a match that will begin at 12:30 p.m. (Central time) and wrap up the weekend in Florida with a 4:30 p.m. contest against Central Missouri.
