ST. LOUIS, MO — Missouri S&T fell 3-1 to RV Missouri–St. Louis Friday night, but the Miners showed stretches of strong, aggressive play—especially in a dominant second set that saw them hit .500 as a team.

UMSL came out firing in the opening set, using a fast-paced attack to build an early lead. The Miners kept things close in the early rallies before a pair of 4-0 runs for the Tritons put the home team ahead. The Miners kept UMSL close midway through the set, picking up a pair of double blocks, but the Tritons' front line began to take control, stringing together five straight points to push ahead 23–12 before closing the set 25–15.

The second set belonged entirely to Missouri S&T, as the Miners recorded one of their best offensive sets of the season. Lexi Kosmopolis (O'Fallon, IL/Newsome) led the charge with seven kills on a blistering .636 hitting percentage, while Avery Patton (Lathrop, MO/Truman) added a pair of blocks. S&T opened the set with a 9-3 lead, fueled by a 4-0 run that featured three kills from Kosmopolis. The Miners would add two more 4-0 runs later, picking up a couple of kills from Elly Decker (Manhattan, IL/Lincoln Way West) and Patton during those stretches. Kills from Kosmoplis and Danielle Wilke (Palmer Lake, CO/Palmer Ridge) would help the Miners put the set away 25-14 and tie the match at one set all.

UMSL stormed ahead to a 6-1 lead in the third with strong play from their front line, but S&T would respond with 7 kills in a 9 points to tie the set at 12-12. The Tritons would regain the lead with a kill from Maggie Johnson, which would start a 12-1 run that helped them claim the set 25-16.

The Tritons claimed the early lead again in set 4, but the Miners refused to go away, cutting the deficit to 2 points on four different occasions. UMSL's Johnson would lead the charge to win the match though, picking up five kills late to help the Tritons pull ahead to a 25-17 win in the final frame.

Kosmoplis' 17 kills are a personal-high in her time at S&T and the second-most by a Miner in a match this season behind Decker's 19 vs Wisconsin-Parkside. The Miners' 12 hitting errors tie a season-low for the team, contributing to a .259 team hitting percentage that is their best against conference opponents this year.

What's Next
The Miners face McKendree Saturday at 3pm

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