Upper Iowa volleyball put up a valiant effort against the third-ranked team in the nation, but fell in three sets to UMSL with set scores of 25-22, 25-16 and 25-20. The Peacocks fell to 9-13 (4-4 GLVC) on the season while the Tritons defended their clean sheet and improved to 23-0 overall and 8-0 in conference play.
Missouri-St. Louis executed well at the net as they put down 46 kills this evening, equaling 15.3 per set, hitting just above their team average of 14.9. The Tritons tallied 19 kills in the first set, while the Peacocks mustered their high of the evening with 13. UMSL's hitting percentage was .228, while UIU hit .163.
The Triton defense totaled 42 kills led by Kylie Adams with 13 and Skylar Weaver with ten. The Peacocks gathered 31 digs with
Kaci Beesecker leading the way with 11 and
Lydia Imbrogno behind her with eight.
The first set was a back-and-forth battle as neither team led by more than three points when Missouri-St. Louis had an early 8-5 advantage after going on a 5-0 run. The Peacocks gained a 22-21 lead as the match was coming to a close, but the Tritons strung together a 4-0 slide to take set one. Their run was fueled by four straight kills, two each from Mya Elliot and Lexie Rang.
The Tritons held a 15-9 lead in the third set, but Upper Iowa continued to chip away at the score. They attempted to shift momentum as they strung together a combination of scoring to only trail 15-13 after a kill and block from
Martha Pace, as well as two service aces from Imbrogno. UMSL responded with two straight kills in an attempt to maintain a further distance (17-13). UIU trailed 22-18, but they allowed the visitors to end the third set on a 4-2 run to claim their victory, the final score being 25-20.
Pace was a big factor at the net as she put up six blocks in addition to her tie for the team-high of six kills this evening.
Madelyn Rettler contributed six kills while
Zoe Semelroth added five.
The Tritons' setter, Caitlin Bishop, accumulated 37 assists and
Nicole Pozorski dished out 26.
Upper Iowa is back in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium tomorrow as they host the Bearcats of McKendree at 3 p.m.
