ROLLA, Mo. -- Missouri S&T Men's Volleyball picked up their sixth win in a row on Friday night, defeating Thomas More 25-18, 25-22, 25-11. The Miners have now won their last 16 consecutive sets.
The Miners offense came out firing on all cylinders, recording 11 kills and 0 errors in the first set to hit .786 as a team in the frame. Thomas More grabbed an early lead in the set, going on a 5-0 run thanks to a trio of service aces by Maciej Kopacz.
Aaron Sallade (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd) had a response though, going back to serve four points later and delivering three aces of his own to lead an S&T 5-0 run that put them in front 11-9. Sallade went on to spark two more scoring runs, helping S&T take a 22-15 advantage. The Miners spread the ball in the final points of the set, getting kills from
Zachary Carff (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic),
Tyler Johnwick (Lombard, IL/Glenbard East), and
Caleb Rohlwing (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) to close out the set with a 25-18 victory.
The Miners and Saints traded points early in the second frame, bring the score to 7-7. The Miners pulled ahead though, recording three kills in four points to move ahead by three points, later extending their lead to five at 15-10. Thomas More slowly crept back into the set, cutting the deficit to just one point at 21-20. Blocks by Sallade, Johnwick, and Carff fueled a 4-2 S&T run to end the set, giving the Miners set two 25-22.
S&T built an early lead in the third and final frame, getting kills from
Nate Meyer (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) and Sallade to move ahead 5-1. Later, a 7-1 run by the Miners built their lead to 17-9, with Sallade contributing a trio of kills and Rohlwing adding a service ace to the run. They claimed the final six points of the match, getting a solo block from
Harris Robinson (Washington, MO/St. Francis Borgia) and a combo block from Rohlwing, and Meyer to close the match with a 25-11 final frame.
Sallade led the Miners in kills and points, totaling 13 and 19. He tied his career-high for aces in a match, recording three and added four blocks to a productive night. The team's 11.5 blocks are the most in a three-set match this season and tied for the third-most in any match this year.
Grant Edmonds (Huntington Beach, CA/Edison) picked up 27 assists on the night, with three Miners tied for the most digs with four.
What's Next
The Miners host the Saints again tomorrow at 2pm.
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