KANSAS CITY, MO -- Missouri S&T dropped to 5-2 in-conference today, suffering a five-set loss to the Rockhurst Hawks earlier this afternoon.
Set 1
There were five lead changes early in the first set, with the Hawks taking a three-point lead at 12-9 after a 5-0 run. The 6th and 7th lead changes soon followed, with the Miners putting together a 5-1 run before a 3-0 response by Rockhurst. S&T tying the set at 20-20 would lead to the set going to extra points, with the Miners saving three set points before taking the set 33-31 on a 3-0 run.
Set 2
Two kills and two blocks for the Miners gave them an early lead at 6-2, one that they would extend to 12-5. The Hawks would close the gap with three-point and five-point runs though, taking a lead at 16-15. S&T responded with a 4-0 run, pulling ahead 19-16. The Hawks would tie the set at 20-20, but a 4-0 run by the Miners would set them up to take set two 25-22 off a kill by
Nate Meyer (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey).
Set 3
A handful of errors from the Hawks led to a 4-0 S&T run in the third that put the Miners up 8-6. After the Hawks tied the set at 8-8, the teams exchanged three-point runs to make it 14-14. The Miners would lead at 17-16, but would fail to score more than a single point at a time the remainder of the set, leading to a 25-21 set victory for Rockhurst.
Set 4
The Miners' struggle to string points together continued into set 4, with the Miners not recording back-to-back points until a service ace by
Grant Edmonds (Huntington Beach, CA/Edison) cut the Hawks' lead to one at 10-9. The Hawks would never give up their lead though, recording a pair of 3-0 runs later in the set to take a 21-14 advantage. The Miners would pick up a 3-0 run of their own, but it would not be enough as Rockhurst evened the match at two sets apiece by taking set four 25-20.
Set 5
Rockhurst errors and a solo block by
Aaron Sallade (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd) set the Miners up with a 6-0 lead in the decisive fifth set, eventually stretching to an 8-1 advantage. Two kills and an ace by the Hawks would start a 5-0 response though, making it 8-6. At 10-8, Meyer and
Grogan Kraus (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell North) combined for a kill each and a double block to put the Miners two points away from taking the set and match. The Hawks cut the Miners' lead to one with a 4-0 answer, making it 13-12 before the Miners got their first match point at 14-12. Kills from RU's Lucas Tran and Beau Cecil saved back-to-back match points, but the Miners got another opportunity at 15-14 after a service error by Tran. A service error by S&T would tie the set again at 15-15, opening the door for a 4-1 Hawk's run that gave RU the 3-2 reverse sweep.
Notable Performances
- Zach Attack: Zachary Carff (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) had one of his best attacking performances of his career, hitting .387 (14k-2e-31ta) and tying his career-high of 14 kills in a match.
- Meyer Digging Deep: Meyer set a new personal-best for digs in a match with 14, tying Bartosz Chmielewski (Aurora, IL/Metea Valley) for the second-most digs in a five setter in S&T history.
What's Next
The Miners end the regular season in Chesterfield, Missouri on Wednesday with a match against the Maryville Saints.
Follow Miners Volleyball on X and Instagram at miners_mvb
