ROLLA, Mo. – The Miners lost 2-3 to the Maryville Saint tonight. The match was a close and exciting one that involved numerous momentum changes.
Nate Meyer (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) set a new season high for kills in a match with 22.
Set 1:
The Miners grabbed a four point lead early, going up 8-4 in the set. They kept adding to that lead, eventually going up 17-11, before a couple of three point runs by the Saints cut the Miners lead to just two at 19-17. The teams stayed knotted up at a two point difference until the Miners went on a 4-1 run to win the set 25-20. Meyer led the way for S&T in the first set, recording 8 kills.
Set 2:
The Miners carried the previous set's momentum into the second, taking the first five straight points. They kept hammering away, taking a 12-5 lead. The Miners would maintain their lead up to 17-11, when the Saints scored six in a row to tie the set. The score would be tied seven times through the end of the set, with the Saints winning the last two points to take set two 26-24 over the Miners.
Set 3:
With the Saints taking the first three points of the third set, it looked like momentum was on their side. S&T would prevent the Saints from pulling away though, tying the score at 5-5 just several minutes later. The Miners would take their first lead of the set at 12-11 and Maryville would not lead for the rest of the set, with the Miners winning it 25-22. Meyer recorded another 6 kills in the third, bringing his night's total up to 18 at the time.
Set 4:
Up two sets to one, the Miners hoped to finish the match in the fourth set to avenge a 1-3 loss to the Saints earlier this year. Early in the set, they were down 7-10, but they would go on a four point run with kills by Meyer,
Aaron Sallade (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd), and
Zachary Carff (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) to take an 11-10 lead. They would go on to take a two point lead before the Saints responded with a 7-1 run that gave the visitors a four point lead. S&T answered right back with three straight points, bringing the score to 19-20. Unfortunately, the Miners were unable to complete the comeback for the win though, dropping the set 22-25.
Set 5:
In the deciding set, the Saints took the early advantage, going up 5-3. The Miners would take the next four points in a row to grab the lead though, going up 7-5. The teams traded points back-and-forth, taking the score up to 11-10 in the Miners favor. At this time, Maryville scored three times in a row to take a two point lead. The Saints would maintain this lead through the end of the set to win it 15-13 and take the Miners down in a five set thriller.
In tonight's match, there were 9 lead changes, and the score was tied 29 times. Meyer's season record of 22 kills led the team, followed by Sallade with 15, and Carff with 13. Other contributors tonight were
Tyler Johnwick (Lombard, IL/Glenbard East) and
Caleb Rohlwing (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) who had four and three blocks, respectively.
