FRANKFORT & CRESTVIEW HILLS, KY -- Missouri S&T Men's Volleyball concluded a successful road trip to Kentucky this weekend, securing a pair of straight-set victories. The Miners' first win came yesterday against Kentucky State, where they dominated with scores of 25-5, 25-12, and 25-17. They followed up with another sweep today, defeating Thomas More 25-18, 25-21, and 25-23.
Miners 3, Thorobreds 0
The Miners pulled away early in the opening set, putting together a 6-0 run off an ace by Camden Seaver (Palatine, IL/William Friend) and kills from three different Miners. Two additional 3-0 runs extended their lead to 15-4 before they claimed the final ten points of the set, winning 25-5.
Seaver continued his strong serving in the second set, delivering back-to-back aces to put the Miners up 4-0. The Thorobreds struggled to find momentum, never scoring more than two consecutive points, while S&T used a trio of 3-0 runs to stretch their lead to 16-8. A pair of service aces from Adam Koniecko (Bartlett, IL/Bartlett) helped the Miners close out the set on a 4-0 run, securing a 25-12 victory.
A few early errors by S&T in the third set allowed the Thorobreds to take a 3-1 lead. However, kills from Koniecko and Seaver helped the Miners regain control with a 3-0 run, setting the stage for a stretch of back-and-forth scoring. At 8-8, two aces from Seaver and a kill from Jack Cioni () fueled a 5-0 run that put S&T ahead 13-8. Kentucky State responded with a 3-0 run to cut the deficit to three, but the Miners answered with four- and three-point runs to extend their lead to 22-15. They held on to take the set 25-17, completing the sweep.
The Miners set a school record for service aces in a match against Kentucky State, tallying 14 in just three sets. Seaver led the team with a career-high five aces. Seaver, Cioni, and Ryan Sword (Fairfax, Va./W.T. Woodson) shared the team lead in kills with six each, while Sword also posted a team-best .857 hitting percentage.
Miners 3, Saints 0
A four-point run by the Saints early in the opening set put them ahead 8-5, but the Miners responded by winning nine of the next twelve points to take a 14-11 lead. Thomas More briefly closed the gap to one, but S&T held them off, using a pair of three-point runs to close out the set 25-18.
The teams exchanged three-point runs early in the second set, bringing the score to 10-10. The Saints then gained a four-point advantage at 19-15, but the Miners roared back with a 6-0 run, fueled by kills from Zachary Carff (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) and Aaron Sallade (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd), to reclaim the lead. They held on to take the set 25-21, building a two-set advantage.
A 6-1 run early in the third set gave the Miners a 10-7 lead, which they maintained for most of the set. However, Thomas More made a late push with a three-point run to cut the deficit to 19-18. A few points later, back-to-back aces from the Saints' Josh Norman gave them a 21-20 lead. Unshaken, the Miners responded with key kills from Sallade and Nate Meyer (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey), along with a clutch block by Caleb Rohlwing (Barrington, Ill./Barrington), to close out the match 25-23.
The Miners recorded a season-high 12 blocks against the Saints, with five coming in the decisive third set. They also notched their second-highest kill total of the season with 40, the most they've recorded in a three-set match this year.
What's Next
The next Miner volleyball match will be on Saturday, March 8th at McKendree University.
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