ROLLA, Mo. — Missouri S&T pushed Truman State to the wire in the final set Friday night, but the Bulldogs held on for a 25-14, 25-18, 25-23 victory over the Miners in Gibson Arena.
The Miners found their rhythm as the match progressed, improving score in each set and nearly completing a third-set comeback after Truman opened the frame with a 7-2 lead.
Truman State's Laci Neece carried the Bulldogs early, putting down four kills in the first seven points to help them build a 9-5 lead. A pair of scoring runs put Truman a point away from taking the set, but the Miners fended off six set points before dropping the opening frame.
The Miners used a pair of 3-0 runs to take a 16-13 lead in the second set, getting three kills and an ace from Elly Decker (Manhattan, IL/Lincoln-Way West) in that stretch. Truman ended the set on a hot streak though, picking up seven kills late to take set two 25-18.
S&T trailed 7-2 early in the third before a service ace from Kaitlyn Brady (Springdale, AR/Rogers) and kills from Madison Smith (Boonville, MO/Boonville), Selin Ozdemir (Ankara, Turkey/Bilim) and Danielle Wilke (Palmer Lake, CO/Palmer Ridge) helped the Miners pull even at 7-7. Aces from Decker and Maggie Miller (Gretna, NE/Gretna) helped the Miners put together a 7-2 run that gained them a 16-13 lead later, but the Bulldogs would ull even at 17-17. The teams remained within two points of each other through the next several points before a 4-0 TSU run put the Bulldogs one points away from winning the match. A kill from Decker and a double block by Ozdemir and Kate Zipprich (Hardin, IL/Calhoun) helped keep S&T alive at 24-23 before Truman State's Neece ended the match with her 16th kill of the night.
Mining the Numbers
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Decker led the Miners with 11 kills while hitting a career-best .300.
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Miller led the team in assists with 14, adding an ace and a dig.
- Zipprich recorded 5 kills on 12 attempts without committing any errors, ending the night with a team-best .417 hitting percentage.
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Smith and Adelyn Weiler (Ste. Genevieve, MO/Valle Catholic) paced the defense with 3 blocks and 12 digs, respectively.
What's Next
The Miners host Upper Iowa tomorrow at 3 p.m. in Gibson Arena.
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