ROLLA, MO -- Missouri S&T picked up their biggest win of the season tonight, defeating the Rockhurst Hawks in straight sets. The Hawks were 7-0 against Great Lakes Valley Conference opponents entering the match. The Miners .309 hitting percentage is their best of the season and the second-best in Head Coach
Jacquie Cason's tenure.
The Miners grabbed momentum early, taking a 7-1 lead while
Annie Arand (Washington, MO/St. Francis Borgia) and
Lexi Kosmopolis (O'Fallon, IL/Newsome) each contributed an ace. Rockhurst began to chip away at the Miners lead, drawing within three at 13-10 after a kill by Sarah Pyle. Three kills from
Addie Schoenberger (Menomonee Falls, WI/Hamilton Sussex) would fuel a 9-1 run by S&T, opening up a 22-11 lead. Kills from
Kate Zipprich (Hardin, IL/Calhoun),
Elly Decker (Manhattan, IL/Lincoln Way West), and Kosmopolis would give the Miners the first frame 25-15.
Decker, Schoenberger, Zipprich, and
Avery Patton (Lathrop, MO/Truman) combined for a trio of double blocks early in the second set, helping the Miners take another big lead to open the set at 9-1. Much like set one, the Hawks started to close the gap slowly, this time only cutting the deficit to 14-8 before S&T retook control with 7-2 run, getting two kills and a block from Zipprich. Trailing 23-11, the Hawks made a late surge, grabbing 7 straight points as Avery DeLong put three kills down, but the Miners would end the comeback with a Kosmopolis kill and a double block from Patton and
Danielle Wilke (Palmer Lake, CO/Palmer Ridge).
The Hawks found their first lead of the match in set three, going ahead 3-1 on a double block and two kills. Back-to-back kills by Schoenberger started another run by the Miners, resulting in a 7-3 lead. Wilke would make her mark later in the set, picking up four kills in seven points to help S&T take an 18-9 lead. Rockhurst answered with an 8-3 run, making it a 21-17 late in the third. The Miners did enough to fend the Hawks off late, getting a pair of kills from Kosmopolis in the final points as S&T completed the sweep.
The Miners hit .309 in the match, getting .375 and .409 marks in sets one and two. The team also had a season-high in total blocks with 14, eight of which came from Zipprich who tied her career-high for blocks in a match.
Mya McClain's (Fort Dodge, IA/St. Edmond) 13 digs led the team, while Arand recorded her first double-double of the season with 20 assists and 10 digs.
Schoenberger led the Miners with 11 kills, 6 of those coming in the first set on just 7 attempts. She did not record any hitting errors, ending the match with a .688 hitting percentage. Kosmopolis and Wilke both recorded strong offensive performances as well, combining to 17 kills and hitting at .200 and .583.
What's Next
The Miners host William Jewell tomorrow at 3pm in Gibson Arena.
Sign up for our email blast at https://minerathletics.com/subscribe.aspx
Follow Miners Volleyball on X and Instagram at @miners_wvb
