SPARKILL, NY -- Missouri S&T Men's Volleyball continued their hot start to the 2026 season on Monday, defeating the St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans in five sets to extend their win streak to four. The streak is the longest in Coach
Ryan Thompson's tenure and the second-longest in the history of the program.
A trio of early blocks, all of which featured
Caleb Rohlwing (Barrington, Ill./Barrington), gave the Miners a 6-2 lead to start the first set. A handful of S&T attacking errors let the Spartans back in it, tying the set at 7-7 before the Miners fell behind at 16-11 after a 7-1 run by the STAC. S&T worked their way back into the set, using runs of 4-1 and 5-1 to catch the Spartans at 23-23 before the host team took the set 25-23 after a kill and a double block.
After dropping the opening set for the first time all season, the Miners rebounded by taking a 9-6 lead early in the second after a 5-0 run that included two kills and an ace from
Aaron Sallade (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd). S&T held a slim until the Spartans took back-to-back points to make it 16-16. Three kills from STAC's Jacob Schwarz gave the Spartans a 23-20 lead, threatening to go up 2-0 on the Miners. However,
Nate Meyer (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) and
Tyler Johnwick (Lombard, IL/Glenbard East) combined for four kills in the final nine points of the set as the Miners went on a 7-2 scoring run to take the set 27-25.
S&T grabbed an early lead in set three, using a 3-0 run and a 4-0 run to take a 12-7 advantage. Aces by Meyer and Rohlwing helped further the Miners' cause, extending their lead to 19-11 after a 5-1 run. The Miners would then close the set on another 5-1 run, getting an ace from
Camden Seaver (Palatine, IL/William Fremd) and a solo block from
Grant Edmonds (Huntington Beach, CA/Edison) to take the set 25-14 and go up 2-1 in the match.
The fourth set featured 9 ties and 4 lead changes at the onset, leading the Miners maintaining a two point advantage at 14-12 after a 3-0 run after kills by Meyer, Sallade, and Seaver. S&T and STAC matched each other for the next several points, with a 2-0 run by the Spartans being immediately erased after the Miners scored two of their own. Back-to-back service errors along with a pair of STAC kills led to the Spartans ending the set on a 6-2 run to force a decisive fifth set.
Kills from Sallade and Rohlwing gave S&T a small advantage at 3-1. Johnwick helped orchestrate a 6-0 run for the Miners a few points later, getting two kills and a combining with Seaver on a block to put the Miners ahead 11-4. Four kills from the Spartans cut the Miners lead to four at 13-9 before the Miners won the set and match two points later after a kill from Meyer and an attack error by STAC.
The Miners set two more records in the victory, with Edmonds setting a new record for most assists in a 5-set match (58) and the team setting one for most blocks in a 5-set match (13). Meyer led the team in kills again, recording 21 this time on 39 attempts for a .462 hitting percentage. Rohlwing was excellent at both the net and the service line, leading the team in blocks (7) and aces (2).
Bartosz Chmielewski (Aurora, IL/Metea Valley) was the team leader in digs, recording 14.
What's Next
The Miners will have a much shorter road trip to look forward to this upcoming week with matches at McKendree and Lindenwood.
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