Missouri S&T volleyball coach Jason Holt has announced the signing of three student-athletes to National Letter of Intent to play at S&T during the upcoming 2008 season.

The latest signees are Danielle Kracl, a setter from Burke High School in Omaha, Neb.; Julie Meyer, an outside hitter from St. Francis Borgia High School in Washington, Mo.; and Chelsea Winkelmann, an outside hitter from Hermann High School in Hermann, Mo.

The three join Erin Bekebrede, an outside hitter from St. Charles High School in St. Charles, Mo., who signed with S&T during the early signing period in November.

Following are profiles and comments on the new members of the Lady Miner volleyball team:

DANIELLE KRACL, a 5-7 setter from Burke High School in Omaha, Neb.: Kracl was named to the all-metro and all-state honorable mention teams following her senior season in the highly volleyball competitive state of Nebraska after finishing the 2007 season ranked among the top 10 in Class A in both set assists and service aces. She earned the same honors following her junior season, helping lead her team to a District A-1 Championship in 2006 and a 8th place finish in Class A State. Kracl was named team captain and voted Outstanding Team Leader during her final two seasons. She played club volleyball for Omaha Wave, where she helped lead her team to a four Junior Olympic National tournaments during her club career.

Head coach Jason Holt: “We are extremely excited to have Dani join us in our sophomore season as a program. Dani brings with her a wealth of very solid technical volleyball skills and knowledge to our setting position. She is extremely competitive and posses a wonderful touch on the ball, allowing her to make great decisions and run a very effective offense. She will do a great job running the court for the Miners.”

JULIE MEYER, a 5-9 outside hitter from St. Francis Borgia High School in Washington, Mo.: Meyer was a multi-year first-team all-conference, all-area, all-district, all-region and all-state player at Borgia, finishing her senior season in 2007 with 352 kills on only 617 attack attempts, hitting 4.29 kills per game and a .439 attack pct. She also finished with 106 total blocks (50 solo and 56 assisted), 403 digs (4.12 per game), and 23 service aces. Julie played on the Rockwood Thunder Volleyball Club team through her junior year, while taking her senior year to focus on basketball; she also plans to be a member of the Lady Miner women's basketball program at Missouri S&T.

Head coach Jason Holt: “Julie brings to Missouri S&T an outstanding resume on both the volleyball and basketball courts. She has tremendous jumping ability with an extremely aggressive and productive arm swing, both on and off the net. Julie is also a great defensive player, leading her team in both defensive digs and blocking. She is a fierce competitor who hates to lose, and that is the kind of attitude on the court that we are always looking for."

CHELSEA WINKELMANN, a 5-8 outside hitter from Hermann High School in Hermann, Mo.: Winkelmann is also a multi-year first team all-conference, all-area, all-district, all-region and all-state player. She helped lead Hermann to the 2006 state championship and a third place finish in her senior year, finishing with a total of 326 kills, for an average of 3.88 kills per game and an attack percentage of .274. Chelsea also registered 51 total blocks (34 solo and 17 assisted), 237 digs, and 44 service aces during her final year of high school volleyball.

Head coach Jason Holt: "Chelsea is a great find for us. She is a strong outside and right side hitter as well as possible defensive specialist who happened to be looking for a strong chemical engineering program...Missouri S&T fits the bill both academically and athletically for her. I am very excited to have another great athlete like Chelsea join our roster next fall. She posses great ball and body control on the court and should provide us with excellent depth on both pins and in the back court."

For more on the 2008 Lady Miner recruiting class, click here

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Leandra Pelae

The Missouri S&T volleyball team will open its spring season Friday night with a match at the University of Missouri in Columbia, the first of three weekends that the Lady Miners will be playing during the spring semester.

Friday's game against the Tigers, who played in last year's NCAA Tournament, will start at 6 p.m. at the Hearnes Center and will be the start of a busy weekend for the Lady Miners as they will head to Warrensburg Saturday to play in the Jennies Spring Tournament. S&T will take on the UCM alumni team at 10 a.m., followed by matches against Nebraska-Omaha, Central Missouri and Southwest Baptist.

Admission will be free to all of the weekend matches, which will be played with a 60-minute running clock.

Missouri S&T will also play in a tournament at Southern Illinois University April 19 and at Southwest Baptist May 2 to wrap up the spring schedule.

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Megan Remley

Missouri S&T has announced the hiring of Megan Remley, who has served as an assistant coach at Southwest Baptist University for the last two seasons, as the new assistant coach for the Lady Miner volleyball program.

Remley takes over for Heather Roberts, who resigned last month to accept a similar position at Colorado School of Mines.

"I am happy to have Megan joining us," said Missouri S&T director of athletics Mark Mullin. "Her experience and enthusiasm will be a positive addition to our outstanding coaching staff."

"One of the things that attracted me to this program is that it is still brand new," Remley said. "It is a program with plenty of room to grow. Having been a player and coach at the Division II level, I know the level of play and what we need to do to help build this program to compete at the highest level."

"I am extremely excited about hiring Megan as our new assistant coach here at Missouri S&T," said Lady Miner head coach Jason Holt. "We couldn’t ask for a better person to come in and help me continue the building of this new program. Megan brings a wealth of both playing and coaching experiences that will be so invaluable to the continual development of our players.

"She has a tremendous amount of knowledge, enthusiasm and drive for what she does and I really believe she will be quite successful here as assistant volleyball coach, both with me and with the team," Holt added. "I'm looking forward to getting Megan started."

Remley, a native of Kearney, Mo., played her collegiate volleyball at Truman State University and was part of two teams that reached the NCAA Division II Championship game. She was a three-time all-conference selection as a middle hitter and right side hitter and helped lead the Bulldogs to three Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association regular season titles and four tournament championships.

The Truman State teams that Remley played for reached the national championship game in 2002 and 2004 and also reached the national quarterfinals in 2003.

Remley received her bachelor's degree from Truman in 2006 in exercise science and has been working on her master's degree in education at SBU while assisting the volleyball program.

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Bridget Williams

The University of Missouri-Rolla volleyball team handed out its post-season awards at an on-campus banquet for its inaugural season, with several players earning honors that were selected by both the team and coaching staff.

Freshmen Ashlyn Balensiefer and Bridget Williams shared "The Rock" award for the 2007 season, while sophomore Lynsey Jorgenson was the winner of the Miner Heart and Spirit Award. Another freshman, Jessica Laughary, was named as the team's most improved player while junior Stephanie Harman was the winner of the Miner Strength Award.

Tory Smiley, a redshirt freshman and true freshman Annie Smith shared the Miner Hustle Award and Kaci Herron received the team's coaches award.

As far as the skill awards went, Williams was the recipient of three of the honors for being the team's top server with a team-high 35 services aces and top defensive player with 505 digs, which ranked sixth in the GLVC. Williams also shared the team's top passer award with Smith as the two finished with the highest grades on the team in that category.

Balensiefer earned the team's top setter award after averaging 9.3 assists per game, while Leandra Pelae was the Lady Miners' top offensive player. The freshman outside hitter finished ninth in the GLVC with her 3.8 kills per game and led the team in hitting percentage for the season.

Jorgenson won the top blocker award with a team-hgih 64 blocks on the campaign.

In their first season, the Lady Miners led the Great Lakes Valley Conference in home attendance, averaging 443 fans per home contest. UMR had two crowds of at least 1,000 fans during the season, including the 13th-best single-game mark of the season with 1,200 spectators at the home opening victory over Drury.

UMR had a total attendance of 5,311 fans in its 12 home matches, the highest net figure in the GLVC for the year.

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Erin Bekebrede

University of Missouri-Rolla volleyball coach Jason Holt has announced his first national letter of intent signing for the 2008 season as UMR has signed Erin Bekebrede during the early signing period.

Bekebrede is a 5-11 outside hitter from St. Charles High School in St. Charles, Mo., where she earned all-region honors following the 2007 season. She averaged 3.2 kills per game to lead her squad, while compiling 65 aces and 28 blocks on the season. She has been a three-time all-district and all-conference selection on the first team after earning both honors as a second team selection following her freshman season.

Bekebrede was also named as her team's most valuable player after each of the last two seasons and has also played for the St. Charles XPress and St. Charles XPlosion club teams, playing in major regional tournaments in Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Dallas.

"Erin is an outstanding outside hitter prospect for us and we are thrilled to have her for our 2008 roster as our volleyball continues to grow as a new program in the GLVC,” Holt said. “Erin posses a well-balanced game both offensively and defensively and will provide another great option for us out on the left pin. She is athletic, poised and has a great understanding of the game of volleyball.

“We look to Erin to come in and compete for playing time right away against our strong and maturing outside hitter corps," he added.

2008 volleyball signings list

Posted by John Kean at 03:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. -- The Lady Miners finished their first volleyball season Saturday night by dropping a 3-0 decision to seventh-ranked Truman State University.

UMR dropped the three games to the Bulldogs by scores of 30-15, 30-28 and 30-21.

After falling in the first game, UMR played Truman to a nip-and-tuck battle in the second game. The teams were tied at 16 and the Lady Miners stayed within two points until Truman scored three straight points to go up 24-20. UMR fought back and closed the gap to one at 28-27. Bridget Williams had a kill when Truman had game point to draw to within one again before the Bulldogs won the match on the next point.

In the third game, UMR took a 14-11 lead on a kill by Katie Herington. Lauren Summerville's kill moments later tied the game at 15 before the Bulldogs took the lead for good.

Leandra Pelae led UMR with 10 kills in the game while Herington finished with six. Ashlyn Balensiefer recorded 25 assists and Williams led UMR with 13 digs.

Earlier in the day, the Lady Miners dropped a 3-0 match to No. 17-ranked Emporia State in Pershing Arena, as the Hornets won by scores of 30-25, 30-18 and 30-8.

Pelae's kill early in game one gave UMR a 12-11 lead, then a service ace by Williams extended the lead to two. ESU scored the next three points to take the lead for good.

Pelae led UMR with eight kills while Jessica Laughary had seven; Balensiefer posted 32 assists and Williams had eight kills to lead the Lady Miners.

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EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The Lady Miners' first season of Great Lakes Valley Conference play came to an end on a down note Friday night, as Southern Indiana handed UMR a 3-0 loss in volleyball action.

The Screaming Eagles won the three games by scores of 30-15, 30-23 and 30-15 in a game they needed to win in their quest to make the conference tournament. USI moved into a tie for fourth place in the GLVC West with Drury with Friday's win.

After the Eagles won the opener, UMR hung tough in the early stages of game two and were down by one at 12-11 after a block by Maddie Owak and Ashlyn Balensiefer. USI pushed its lead back out only to see the Lady Miners draw to within six on a kill by Owak, but that was as close as UMR would get in that game. An early 8-0 run by the Eagles in the final game put them ahead for good.

Leandra Pelae led the Lady Miners with 10 kills in the contest, while Owak had six and Lisa Robinson finished with four. Balensiefer was credited with 20 assists while Pelae and Bridget Williams had 10 digs apiece.

UMR will conclude its inaugural season with a pair of matches Saturday against nationally-ranked teams in Kirksville, Mo. The Lady Miners will take on No. 17 Emporia State at 3 p.m. and then finish the year with a 7 p.m. contest against No. 7 Truman State. Truman beat Emporia State 3-2 Friday night.

Posted by John Kean at 08:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Maddie Owak

The Lady Miner volleyball team was knocked off Tuesday night by the University of Missouri-St. Louis by a 3-0 count in its final home game of the season at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

The Tritons won the match by scores of 30-20, 30-19 and 30-22 to clinch a berth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament that takes place next weekend.

UMSL grabbed an early six-point lead in the first game, but UMR rallied back and tied the score at 15 on a kill by Lynsey Jorgenson. But the Lady Miners weren't able to get over the hump in the opener, as the Tritons scored the next three points and were able to pull away with a 7-1 run later in the game.

A 6-0 run by the Lady Miners early in game two on Bridget Williams' serve allowed UMR to build an 8-4 lead out of the gate, but the Tritons scored nine of the next 11 points ater calling a timeout to go ahead for good.

UMR scored the initial point in the third game on a kill by Maddie Owak and then were even at five after a kill by Ashlyn Balensiefer. However, UMSL scored three straight to go back in front and gradually extended the lead throughout the decisive game.

Leandra Pelae led the Lady Miners with 11 kills on the night while Owak recorded nine. Balensiefer finished with 23 assists and Bridget Williams made 22 digs in the contest for UMR, who will play its final three games on the road beginning Friday night at Southern Indiana.

Posted by John Kean at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Lady Miner volleyball team lost a 3-0 decision Saturday afternoon at Rockhurst University, as the Hawks took the games by scores of 30-13, 30-10 and 30-23 at Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse.

UMR was within three points in game one after Lynsey Jorgenson's kill made the score 9-6, but Rockhurst scored 15 of the next 18 points to pull away. The Hawks continued that run at the start of game two as well as they posted the first nine points.

The Lady Miners fell behind 7-2 to open the third game, but tied it at nine with a 5-0 run on Leandra Pelae's serve. Rockhurst regained the lead and pushed it back out to seven points, but UMR clawed back and closed to within three at 21-18. Jessica Laughary's kill made it 23-20 before Rockhurst scored three straight to go back up by six.

A kill by Samantha Klump, followed by a Rockhurst attack error and a another kill by Klump drew UMR to within three again at 26-23, but the Hawks scored the final four points of the game.

Pelae, Jorgenson and Klump all had six kills apiece for UMR, while Ashlyn Balensiefer recorded 24 assists and Bridget WIlliams finished with 14 digs.

UMR will close out its home schedule Tuesday with a game against Missouri-St. Louis at 7 p.m. at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

Posted by John Kean at 08:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Lady Miner volleyball team split the first two games of its match Friday night at Drury, but the Panthers took control of the match after the intermission to take a 3-1 decision from UMR at Weiser Gym.

After the Panthers won the first game 30-24, the Lady Miners bounced back and took the second game by a 30-22 count. But unlike the first meeting between the teams that went along the same route up to the intermission, the Panthers took the final two games by scores of 30-11 and 30-16.

UMR had leads at various points in game one, with its last lead of 20-19 on a kill by Katie Herington. The Lady Miners fell behind again, but caught up at 21 on a kill by Leandra Pelae, at 22 when Lauren Summerville came up with a kill and again at 23 on another kill by Pelae. However, the Panthers scored seven of the final eight points to take the game.

The Lady Miners bounced back in game two, going ahead for good at 5-4 on Lynsey Jorgenson's kill. UMR continued to build on that lead and went up by as many as 10 at 24-14 on a block by Jorgenson and Ashlyn Balensiefer. Samantha Klump's kill finished off the win for UMR.

But after the intermission, Drury built a quick 10-point lead in game three and only allowed that lead to get under double figures once. The Panthers then went ahead by 11 in the early portion of the fourth game and after UMR got to within seven at 16-9 on a kill by Jessica Laughary, Drury was able to pull away to wrap up the match.

Jorgenson led UMR with 11 kills in the match while Summerville finished with 10. Balensiefer had 35 assists in the contest while Bridget Williams was credited with a team-high 18 digs.

Balensiefer and Williams also had two services aces apiece.

UMR will face Rockhurst Saturday in Kansas City, Mo., in a 4 p.m. match.

Posted by John Kean at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Lauren Summerville

The first Lady Miner volleyball game on Homecoming was spoiled Saturday as Quincy University handed UMR a 3-0 loss at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

The Hawks got away from UMR late in the first two games to win by scores of 30-24 and 30-23, then won a highly competitive third game by the score of 33-31.

UMR opened the night by scoring five of the first six points, going up 5-1 on an ace by Jessica Laughary. The Lady Miners continued to hold the lead until Quincy scored three straight points midway through the game to go up 17-16 and never trailed again. UMR was as close as 22-21 after a kill by Lauren Summerville but couldn't get any closer.

The Hawks never trailed in the second game although their lead was never larger than five points until the latter stages of the game. UMR pulled to within one at 18-17 on an ace by Leandra Pelae, but QU scored six of the next nine points to pull away for the seven-point win.

The final game was a nip-and-tuck affair from the start as neither team led by more than three points. UMR had that three-point advantage at 7-4 after a kill by Katie Herington, but the teams traded the lead on ten occasions in game three.

UMR had two game point opportunities, going up 30-29 and again at 31-30 but couldn't get the game-winner as the Hawks scored the final three points to win the match.

Pelae led UMR with 18 kills in the contest, while Summerville finished the night with eight and Samantha Klump with seven. Ashlyn Balensiefer had 42 assists and tied with Bridget Williams for the team-high in digs with 15, while Annie Smith had 10 digs in the contest.

UMR will play its next two games on the road, beginning Friday at Drury in a 7 p.m. match.

(Photo by Anna Whelan)

Posted by John Kean at 09:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Bridget Williams

The Lady Miner volleyball dropped the first of its two home matches over the Homecoming weekend on campus, falling in a 3-0 decision to No. 17-ranked Southern Illinois Edwardsville at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

The Cougars grabbed control of the contest in the early stages of each of the three games. The Lady Miners were able to trim a 12-point SIUE lead down to seven in the first game on a kill by Lynsey Jorgenson, but the Cougars scored the next four points to regain control of the game.

UMR was within two early in the second game on a block by Jorgenson, then a combined block by Lauren Summerville and Hope Mooberry got the SIUE lead down to 14-10 before the guests were able to extend their lead.

Leandra Pelae led the way with 15 kills in the contest, while Ashlyn Balensiefer recorded 22 assists and Bridget Williams had 18 digs for UMR, which will host Quincy at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

(Photo by Anna Whelan)

Posted by John Kean at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The Lady Miner volleyball team ran headlong into a match with a perennial power in the NCAA Division II ranks Tuesday night and came up on the short end of a 3-0 decision at the University of Central Missouri.

The Jennies, who are ranked ninth in the latest AVCA national rankings, won the three games by scores of 30-15, 30-12 and 30-21.

Central started quickly in each of the three games. UCM scored six of the first seven points in game one, then ran off six straight points after a Maddie Owak kill had cut the lead to 14-8. The Jennies opened up the second game with a 10-1 lead and UMR was able to get as close as seven on three different occasions.

The Lady Miners scored the first two points of game three on a kill by Owak and a block by Lynsey Jorgenson, but the Jennies posted the next nine points to go up for good. UMR got to within three at 12-9 on a combined block by Samantha Klump and Ashlyn Balensiefer.

Later in that game, a kill by Klump made the score 23-16 in UCM's favor, but four straight points by the Jennies kept the Lady Miners at bay.

Leandra Pelae had a team-high seven kills in the game while Balensiefer, Klump and Owak had five apiece. Balensiefer had 17 assists and 12 digs to lead the way in those departments, but it wasn't enough to offset the Jennies' .345 hitting percentage in the contest.

UMR returns home this weekend and will begin a two-game homestand Friday against No. 17 Southern Illinois Edwardsville at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

Posted by John Kean at 08:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. -- The Lady Miner volleyball team made a game of it Saturday, extending the match into a fourth game and carrying that one beyond the 30-point mark before Lewis came away with a 3-1 win Saturday afternoon.

The Flyers won the first two games by scores of 30-21 and 30-22, but UMR took the third game with a strong finish by a 30-28 count. Lewis held off two Lady Miner game points, however, in game four and ended up taking a 33-31 decision to win the match.

After the Flyers had taken the first two games by the nine- and eight-point margins, the teams traded the lead throughout the third game. UMR had an early three-point lead, then the Flyers came back and went ahead by three at 22-19. The Lady Miners scored the next three points and tied the game at 22 on a kill by Samantha Klump.

Lewis regained the lead on a UMR service error, but the Lady Miners rattled off the next five points to build a 27-23 advantage on an ace by Bridget Williams.

UMR saw the Flyers close to within one after it reached game point, but Maddie Owak's kill finished off the victory to keep the game going.

The Lady Miners took a 10-8 lead in game four on a combined block by Lynsey Jorgenson and Lauren Summerville, but the Flyers used a 5-0 run to take a five-point lead at 17-12. UMR was able to claw back in it and went back in front 28-27 on a kill by Klump.

A kill by Balensiefer on the next point brought UMR to game point, but a pair of attack errors allowed the Flyers to tie the score. UMR went back in front on a kill by Klump, but Lewis scored the next two points and a kill by Jorgenson staved off a game point for the Flyers before a pair of kills ended the contest.

Leandra Pelae led UMR with 16 kills in the game, while Klump and Summerville had nine kills apiece. The Lady Miners finished the game with a .199 hitting percentage, including an impressive .378 mark in their game three win.

Balensiefer had 41 assists while Williams led the way in digs with 20. UMR also got 16 digs from Pelae and Balensiefer as it finished with 78 in the game.

The Lady Miners will face No. 9-ranked Central Missouri Tuesday in Warrensburg, Mo.

Posted by John Kean at 08:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

KENOSHA, Wis. -- The Lady Miner volleyball dropped the first match of its weekend road trip Friday night, as it fell at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside by a 3-1 count.

UMR won the opening game of the match by a 30-26 score, but the Rangers came back and won three games that followed by scores of 30-25, 30-22 and 30-24.

The Lady Miners won the first game despite having its fewest number of kills -- nine -- in any of the four games. UMR finished the night with a .172 hitting percentage, but the Rangers hit at a .236 clip in the contest.

Leandra Pelae led the Lady Miners with 16 kills on the evening, while Ashlyn Balensiefer had 34 assists and Bridget Williams recorded a team-high 10 digs. UMR had 8.5 blocks in the contest as well, with Pelae and Lynsey Jorgenson leading the way with four assisted blocks apiece.

The Lady Miners will finish their weekend trip Saturday with a 3 p.m. match against Lewis in Romeoville, Ill.

Posted by John Kean at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Annie Smith

For the second day in succession, the UMR volleyball team crossed paths with a nationally-ranked opponent from the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Unfortunately for the Lady Miners, the end result was the same as it was Friday night.

UMR dropped a 3-0 decision Saturday afternoon to 20th-ranked Indianapolis at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building, falling in the three games by scores of 30-14, 30-20, 30-16 to the lone undefeated team in GLVC play.

The Lady Miners hung tough during much of the third game, getting a kill from Lauren Summerville and an attack error by the Greyhounds to get within three at 13-10. But the Greyhoiunds scored six of the next eight points in the game and was able to keep the Lady Miners at bay from that point.

Indianapolis, which never trailed in any of the three games Saturday, got out to big leads early in each of the first two games of the match.

Leandra Pelae led the Lady Miners with 14 kills on the afternoon, while Ashlyn Balensiefer led UMR in both assists with 24 and digs with 19. Bridget Williams had 12 digs as well for the Lady Miners.

UMR will head to the road next weekend with games Friday at Wisconsin-Parkside and Saturday at Lewis.

Posted by John Kean at 07:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ashlyn Balensiefer

The Lady Miner volleyball team battled 22nd-ranked Northern Kentucky all the way to the last point Friday night, but the Norse came away with a 3-0 Great Lakes Valley Conference win at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

After the Norse took the first game by a 30-12 count, UMR battled on even terms with them over the next two games before falling by scores of 30-24 and 30-28.

The Lady Miners were within three points on two occasions in the second game, closing to 14-11 on a block by Katie Herington and Maddie Owak and again at 15-12 on a solo block by Owak. Later in the game, a service ace by Bridget Williams drew UMR to within three again at 26-23, but the Norse scored four of the next five points to win the game.

After the break, UMR got off to a fast start in the third game by taking an early 7-2 lead on a block by Leandra Pelae. UMR remained in front for the first half of the match before a 9-0 run by NKU gave it the lead for good.

The Lady Miners closed a seven-point deficit down to one at 28-27 on an ace by Hope Mooberry, then got to within one again at 29-28 on a kill by Pelae before the Norse won the match on the next point.

Pelae led UMR with 14 kills on the night while Mooberry, Ashlyn Balensiefer and Samantha Klump had four kills apiece. Balensiefer also had 24 assists while Annie Smith had a team-high nine digs. UMR also finished the match with 10 blocks, with Owak posting two solo and three assisted blocks and Herington having a hand in four blocks.

The Lady Miners will host No. 20-ranked Indianapolis Saturday at 3 p.m. to wrap up their three-game homestand.

Posted by John Kean at 09:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Leandra Pelae

The Lady Miner volleyball team opened a three-game homestand Thursday night by winning the first game against Saint Joseph's, but the Pumas came back to win the next three games to take a 3-1 decision over UMR at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

UMR came from behind to take a hard-fought 30-28 win in the opener, but the Pumas won the next three games by scores of 30-17, 30-23 and 30-22.

The Lady Miners opened the match by scoring eight of the first 11 points, only to see Saint Joseph's score the next six points to take the lead. UMR got the advantage back and took a 15-13 lead on a service ace by Lauren Summerville.

Saint Joseph's regained the lead and increased it to as many as five points before the Lady Miners rattled off eight straight points on Leandra Pelae's serve to move in front for good. A kill by Summerville tied the game at 23, then UMR got blocks from Lynsey Jorgenson on two of the next three points to take a 26-23 lead.

Maddie Owak's kill moved the Lady Miners to game point, then after the Pumas were able to stave off two attempts by UMR to win the opening game, Pelae put home a kill to give the Lady Miners the first game victory.

The Pumas led from start to finish in game two, but UMR got out to a 5-1 lead to open game three. However, Saint Joseph's went ahead for good in the game at 11-10 and then led for nearly the entire fourth game to take the match.

Pelae led the Lady Miners with 10 kills on the night while Katie Herington finished with nine. Ashlyn Balensiefer recorded 32 assists and 14 digs (Pelae also had 14 digs) and Bridget Williams came up with 20 digs to lead UMR.

The Lady Miners will host No. 22-ranked Northern Kentucky Friday at 7 p.m., then hosts a 3 p.m. match Saturday against 20th-ranked Indianapolis.

Posted by John Kean at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

OWENSBORO, Ky. -- The Lady Miners went the distance Saturday -- and were rewarded for it.

After Kentucky Wesleyan pulled out a 30-27 win in game four of their match, the Lady Miners had a sensational fifth game and took a 15-9 victory for their first road win in their inaugural season, a 3-2 decision over the Panthers at Jones Gymnasium.

UMR dropped the opening game of the match by a 30-27 count as well, but won game two 30-25 and the third game 32-30. Kentucky Wesleyan came back to win the fourth game after UMR had a lead, but the Lady Miners took a quick lead in the final game and never surrendered it to pick up their third win of the season.

The Lady Miners had a 27-26 lead in the first game after a kill by Leandra Pelae, but the Panthers scored the final four points to take the lead in the match. UMR took the advantage for good in the second game at 16-15 on a setting error by KWC, then got a kill from Pelae to wrap that game up.

In the third game, UMR made an 8-1 run in the early stages to take a 16-14 lead, only to see the Panthers take the lead back by scoring four straight to go up 23-22. UMR rallied to reclaim the advantage at 30-29 to give it game point, but after missing that chance, got another at 31-30 and won the game on a kill by Samantha Klump.

UMR had the score in its favor for much of game four before the Panthers went in front at 21-20. UMR tied the game up at 22 on a kill by Pelae, but three straight points by the Panthers put them back in the lead and they went on to force a fifth game.

The Lady Miners, however, got kils from Maddie Owak and Pelae and a service ace from Lauren Summerville to open a 4-0 lead to begin the final game, then built the lead to 11-2 on a block by Lynsey Jorgensen. Kentucky Wesleyan was able to hold off game point three times, but setter Ashlyn Balensiefer tapped a ball over the net to get the final point and the victory for UMR.

Pelae finished with a season-high 26 kills and a .392 hitting percentage in the game for the Lady Miners, while Owak recorded 11 kills and Jorgensen nine. Balensiefer had 51 assists in the match while Bridget Williams was one of four Lady Miner with double figures in digs with a team-high 23. Balensiefer had 14 digs while Pelae and Owak had 11 each.

UMR will open a three-game homestand Thursday when it hosts Saint Joseph's in a GLVC match at 7 p.m. at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Three nights after ending a seven-match losing streak, the Lady Miners were unable to halt their skid in Great Lakes Valley Conference play as they dropped a 3-0 decision at Bellarmine.

The Knights took a 30-26 decision in the first game, then extended the margin in each of the last two games with wins of 30-20 and 30-14.

The first game was tight for much of the way, but the Lady Miners were playing catchup nearly the entire time. Bellarmine built a 10-4 lead, only to see UMR knock the advantage down. The Lady Miners eventually caught up and got a lead of 26-24. However, a kill by Bellarmine's Kelli Krucki started a 6-0 run that gave the Knights the first game.

Game two saw the Knights lead virtually from start to finish. After the teams split the first two points, Bellarmine scored the next three to take the lead for good. UMR got a kill from Maddie Owak and a service ace from Bridget Williams to close to within one at 4-3, but that was as close as it would get in the middle game.

A 9-2 BU run gave it a 19-9 lead and it was able to keep the Lady Miners at bay from there.

The final game saw the Lady Miners lead in the early stages, but the Knights were able to put together another big run -- this one of 9-1 -- to grasp control of the game and the match.

Leandra Pelae led the Lady Miners with 12 kills while Owak finished with six, but the Lady Miners were only able to post a hitting percentage of .096 for the night compared to Bellarmine's .352.

Ashlyn Balensiefer had 28 assists and Williams recorded 17 digs for the Lady Miners (2-17, 1-6 GLVC), who will play at Kentucky Wesleyan Saturday afternoon.

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Bridget Williams

The Lady Miners had not swept all three games of a match all season -- until Tuesday night when they routed Missouri Valley by a 3-0 count at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

UMR won the first two games by identical 30-24 scores, then got off to a fast start in the third game and went on to post a 30-17 victory to wrap up its second victory of the season.

The Lady Miners spent most of the night in the lead, opening up an early 11-5 lead in game one on a block by Samantha Klump. Missouri Valley was able to rally and knotted the game at 17, but starting with a kill by Maddie Owak, UMR scored five of the next six points to take control of the game for good.

Lauren Summerville, who finished the night with five of UMR's 10 service aces, had two during a late run before the Lady Miners wrapped up the win.

After falling behind 5-1 to open game two, UMR scored five straight points to take a 6-5 lead. The game remained tight until UMR scored six out of eight points after it was tied at 14. UMR led 24-19 before the Vikings closed to within two, but a kill by Leandra Pelae and one moments later by Katie Herington allowed UMR to extend its lead.

Pelae finished off the Vikings in game two with one of her team-high 12 kills on the night.

UMR spotted the Vikings the first point of game three, then put together its longest continuous scoring run in any game this season by scoring 11 straight points with Summerville serving. She had three aces during that stretch and Owak had three kills as well to allow UMR to build an early 11-1 lead.

The lead grew to 18-3 on a kill by Pelae before the Vikings tried the make the score respectable. Missouri Valley got to within nine at 24-15, but a Pelae kill sparked a 6-2 game-closing run that ended with a block by Klump and Ashlyn Balensiefer.

UMR had a .333 hitting percentage in the final game and finished the night at .207, while holding the Vikings to a .061 attack mark. Besides Pelae's 12 kills, Owak finished with eight and Klump with six; she also had a hand in four of UMR's seven blocks on the night.

Balensiefer had 32 assists while Bridget Williams led UMR with 19 digs.

UMR will head to the road for a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference matches this weekend, starting Friday night against Bellarmine in Louisvlle, Ky.

(Photo by Anna Whelan)

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The UMR volleyball team will host Missouri Valley College Tuesday night at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building and is encouraging all fans to come to the 7 p.m. game dressed in black as part of "Black-Out Night" at UMR.

The Lady Miners are hoping to top the highest attendance mark in NCAA Division II this season of 1,436 established on Sept. 5 when Nebraska-Omaha hosted Wayne State (Neb.). UMR currently has the fourth-highest single-game mark this year of 1,200 for its opening night match against Drury and also drew 1,021 for its Sept. 14 game against Southern Indiana which is the 12th-best figure in 2007.

All fans who attend the match and wear at least a black shirt will receive $1 off a regular admission price to the game.

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Lauren Summerville

QUINCY, Ill. -- The Lady Miners were able to end one streak Saturday, but couldn't halt the other as they dropped a 3-1 decision to Quincy in Great Lakes Valley Conference volleyball action Saturday.

The Lady Miners had not won a game in a match since posting their victory over Drury on Sept. 7, but won a hotly-contested second game 33-31 to draw even in the match. However, the Hawks, who won game one 30-26, won 30-18 and 30-26 in the next two games to take the contest.

Quincy, who won its first conference match of the season Friday over Missouri-St. Louis, jumped out to a 7-1 lead to open the afternoon, but UMR fought back and drew even at 20. The Lady Miners got their first lead at 24-23 on a block by Maddie Owak and Lynsey Jorgenson, but the Hawks scored the next six points and eventually came away with the game.

UMR took an early lead in game two, but Quincy took the advantage at 14-13 and maintained the lead until UMR drew even at 27 on a kill by Leandra Pelae. The game was tied at 28 when Katie Herington's service ace gave UMR a game point opportunity, but it would be on the fourth chance that the Lady Miners would finally claim the game. Kills by Samantha Klump and Lauren Summerville after the game was tied at 31 allowed UMR to even up the match.

Quincy made a 12-1 run in the middle of game three to take a decisive lead to win that game, then rallied from a six-point deficit in the fourth game to take the match.

The Lady Miners took a 20-14 lead on a kill by Pelae and forced Quincy into a timeout. UMR was able to keep its lead in that neighborhood and went up by five at 24-19 on a block by Klump and Ashlyn Balensiefer. But from there, the Hawks were able to string together eight consecutive points and eventually won the match.

Pelae finished with 18 kills to lead UMR, while Summerville had 11 kills and Klump 10 in the contest. Balensiefer had 55 assists in the contest while Bridget Williams led UMR with 23 digs.

UMR finished the day with a .208 hitting percentage, buoyed by a .488 mark in game two when it had 23 kills and only two attack errors.

The Lady Miners will host Missouri Valley Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building. Fans are encouraged to wear black apparel to the game as part of "Black-Out Night" at UMR.

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EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- The Lady Miner volleyball team had a tough time with 14th-ranked Southern Illinois Edwardsville Friday night as the Cougars beat the Lady Miners in a 3-0 decision.

SIUE finished the night hitting at .412 clip and won the three games by scores of 30-18, 30-20 and 30-16 to send UMR to its sixth straight loss.

While the Cougars were hitting at a high percentage all night, the Lady Miners ended up with an .043 hitting percentage in the contest. They did get seven kills from Lauren Summerville, six from Samantha Klump and five from Maddie Owak and Katie Herington.

Ashlyn Balensiefer had 22 assists on the night and Bridget Williams led the way with 10 kills. UMR did record seven service aces in the match.

The Lady Miners will look to get back in the win column Saturday when they face Quincy in a 3 p.m. match in Quincy, Ill.

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Leandra Pelae

The Lady Miners couldn't quite get over the hump in game one of Saturday night's match against Southwest Baptist and after dropping game one to the Bearcats by a 33-31 score, fell in the next two games and for the fifth straight time.

SBU won game two 30-19 and wrapped up the 3-0 win with a 30-28 victory in the third game.

The Lady Miners held the lead for much of the first game, building a six-point lead of 15-9 on a kill by Hope Mooberry. UMR was able to retain that lead until SBU scored four straight points to tie the game at 20.

After a kill by Maddie Owak put UMR back in front, the Bearcats scored the next two points to take their first lead since the early minutes of the game. The teams then swapped the lead for the next several points and each team was serving on game point.

Lauren Summerville's kill prevented the Bearcats from winning the game first and knotted the score at 30, then a kill by Owak gave UMR a game point opportunity. SBU's Brittni Jessen kept the game going with a kill of her own, then SBU scored the next points to take the opener.

UMR fell behind early in game two, then got the game even at nine. The Bearcats then proceeded to score six of the next eight points to go up by six and then made a run of six straight to push their lead to nine en route to capturing that game.

SBU took the lead in game three early on, but the Lady Miners were able to stay on the Bearcats' heels for the entire game. UMR got a four-point SBU lead down to one at 28-27 on an assisted block by Katie Herington and Summerville, then again at 29-28 after a Bearcat service error. However, a error by the Lady Miners allowed the Bearcats to win the match on the next point.

Leandra Pelae led UMR with 13 kills in the game, while Summerville finished with seven and Samantha Klump with six in 13 attempts without an error. Ashlyn Balensiefer recorded 35 assists for the Lady MIners while Bridget Williams finished with 14 digs and Owak with 12.

Lady Miners knocked off by No. 12 Pittsburg State

For the third time in 11 days, the UMR volleyball team fell victim to a nationally-ranked team as it dropped a 3-0 decision Saturday afternoon to 12th-ranked Pittsburg State in the front end of a day-night doubleheader at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

UMR hung in there with the Gorillas for much of the first game, as it was tied at 14 after a service ace and another point on a kill by Ashlyn Balensiefer. UMR was able to tie the game again at 19 on Leandra Pelae's service ace, but the Gorillas rattled off the next five points and were able to finish the game off.

The second game saw UMR hold an early advantage, as Lauren Summerville's kill gave it a 7-5 lead. PSU went up for good at 9-8, but the Lady Miners hung around for a good portion of the middle game as well before the Gorillas put some distance between the teams in the latter stages.

Pitt State then grabbed an early lead in the final game and was able to hold off any rally efforts the Lady Miners made until it scored six straight points to take a 10-point lead.

UMR finished the game with a .186 hitting percentage with gradual improvement in each game. Pelae led the Lady Miners with 15 kills while Summerville ended up with nine. Balensiefer had 34 assists and eight digs in the game while Bridget Williams finished with 15 digs.

The Lady Miners (1-14) will return to action Friday when they face No. 15-ranked Southern Illinois Edwardsville in a 7 p.m. game at SIUE.

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Ashlyn Balensiefer

The Lady Miners created more attack opportunities than Southern Indiana Friday nght at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building, but the visiting Screaming Eagles were more effective with their attempts and came away with a 3-0 sweep over UMR.

Southern Indiana had just 10 attack errors on the night and finished with a hitting percentage near 30 percent, while the Lady Miners were guilty of 28 errors in the three games which they lost by scores of 30-25, 30-15 and 30-19.

The teams played a nip-and-tuck first game, with neither team holding a lead of more than four points until late in the game. UMR took a 13-9 lead on a service ace by Lauren Summerville and built two more leads of four points, the last at 18-14 on a kill by Ashlyn Balensiefer.

USI clawed back in the game and took its first lead since the early stages at 25-24 in the midst of a decisive 7-0 run. UMR staved off one game point before the Eagles took the opening game.

The Lady Miners fell behind 6-0 to start game two and never got closer than two points; the Eagles gradually extended their lead throughout game two until it won 30-15. UMR and USI were tied at four early in game three before the Eagles took the lead for good to win the match.

Leandra Pelae led the Lady Miners (1-12, 1-3 GLVC) with nine kills while Katie Herington finished with six. Balensiefer had 27 assists, while Annie Smith and Maddie Owak had nine digs apiece.

UMR will host a day-night doubleheader Saturday, facing No. 12-ranked Pittsburg State at 1 p.m. and Southwest Baptist at 6 p.m. at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

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Ashlyn Balensiefer

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The UMR volleyball team dropped its second straight Great Lakes Valley Conference match Tuesday night when Missouri-St. Louis handed the Lady Miners a 3-0 loss.

The Lady Miners got closer in every game Tuesday night, but fell by scores of 30-17, 30-21 and 30-28.

Thanks to a .375 hitting percentage in the opening game, the Tritons were able to get past the Lady Miners rather easily. UMR improved its hitting in game two, but the Tritons were still over the 30 percent mark and had just five hitting errors in the first two games of the match.

UMR had its best hitting mark in game three of .189 and hung in the match until the very end before UMSL came away with the two-point victory and the match.

Leandra Pelae led the Lady Miners with nine kills on the night, while Ashlyn Balensiefer had 30 assists and nine digs. Bridget Williams paced UMR with 16 digs on the evening.

UMR (1-11, 1-2 GLVC) will host three matches over the weekend starting with Friday's 7 p.m. GLVC tilt against Southern Indiana at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

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Maddie Owak

Less than 24 hours after recording its first win of the season, the UMR volleyball team ran into -- and lost to -- one of the top teams in the Great Lakes Valley Conference as 20th-ranked Rockhurst came away with a 3-0 win over the Lady Miners Saturday at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

The Hawks, who have lost just once in 10 matches this season, won the three games by scores of 30-19, 30-20 and 30-24.

UMR hung in the first game and took a 10-8 lead on a service ace by Maddie Owak. However, the Hawks ran off 13 of the next 15 points to go up 21-12 and never looked back.

Rockhurst then took control at the outset of the second game, going up at one point by the score of 20-9. UMR was able to close the gap to four on a kill by Leandra Pelae but couldn't draw any closer.

UMR scored the first point of game three, but Rockhurst scored 10 of the game's next 13 points to go up 10-4. Trailing 20-14 later in the match, UMR made a run that saw it get to within a point on three occasions. A kill by Hope Mooberry made the score 21-20, then Lauren Summerville made a kill two points later to cut the Hawk lead to 22-21.

The Lady Miners got to within one again on a kill by Pelae, but Rockhurst scored six straight points to go up 29-22. UMR was able to stave off match point twice before the Hawks closed out the contest.

Pelae led UMR with 12 kills in the match while Owak had eight to go along with a .316 hitting percentage. Ashlyn Balensiefer recorded 30 assists while Bridget Williams finished with 16 digs.

UMR will return to action Tuesday when it plays at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in a 7 p.m. match.

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Lauren Summerville

The Lady Miner volleyball team finally got to play a match in front of its home fans -- and the large turnout at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building saw a history-making night.

UMR spotted Drury the first game of Friday's match, then rattled off victories in the next three games to come away with a 3-1 win in its Great Lakes Valley Conference and home debut before a crowd of around 1,200 fans.

After dropping game one 30-24, UMR posted wins of 30-25, 30-24 and 32-30 in a hard-fought fourth game to get into the win column for the first time in its inaugural season.

The Lady Miners were tied at 13 in game one after a kill by Maddie Owak, but Drury took the lead for good by scoring the next five points. But UMR turned the tables on the Panthers in the second game, making a late surge to pull it out.

After getting to within one at 22-21 on a kill by Lauren Summerville, UMR scored five straight points with Ashlyn Balensiefer serving. Owak had a kill and an assisted block with Katie Herington during that sequence as UMR took a 26-22 lead. Drury halted that run with a kill on the next point, but the Lady Miners finished the game off on one of Leandra Pelae's 20 kills in the contest.

UMR then used a big mid-game run in the third game to take control. Up 15-14, Herington's kill started an 8-2 run that put the Lady Miners ahead 23-16 and forced Drury to use two timeouts. The Panthers got the lead down to four at 27-23 before two service errors by Drury and a service ace by Herington secured the win in game three.

The Lady Miners trailed for a good portion of game four, trailing by as many as seven points on two occasions. UMR started clawing back into the game and eventually caught up at 26 on a block by Herington. The two teams fought tooth-and-nail after that as they traded the next eight points.

Pelae's kill off an assist by Balensiefer tied the game at 30, then she delivereed a service ace to put UMR up for the first time in game four since it was 5-4. Moments later, Summerville finished the match with a spike that the Panthers could not keep on the floor.

Besides Pelae's 20 kills, Summerville finished the night with 15. Balensiefer had 47 assists in the contests while Pelae led the way with eight digs.

UMR will host 20th-ranked Rockhurst Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

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Leandra Pelae

TOPEKA, Kan. -- The UMR volleyball team had its hands full Tuesday night and dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 12-ranked Washburn at Lee Arena.

The Lady Blues won the first game 30-22, then posted back-to-back 30-20 wins to wrap up the match.

After falling behind 5-0 in the opening game, UMR clawed back and got to within two at 12-10 on a block by Katie Herington. Leandra Pelae's kill moments later made it 13-11, but Washburn scored the next five points of the game and never looked back.

UMR got its first lead of the night at 10-9 in game two on a service ace by Pelae and still led 12-11 before the Lady Blues scored six straight points to take an insurmountable lead. Washburn never trailed in the third game, jumping out to a 16-9 lead to start out.

Pelae led the Lady Miners with 14 kills in the game and had a .382 hitting percentage in the game as she had just one attack error in 34 tries. UMR also got eight kills from Maddie Owak and 32 assists from Ashlyn Balensiefer; she also posted 14 digs along with Bridget Williams, who was playing in her hometown Tuesday night.

The Lady Miners (0-9) will return to Rolla to open the home slate for the first time Friday when they host Drury in a 7 p.m. match at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

Posted by John Kean at 08:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Lauren Summerville

GOLDEN, Colo. -- Saturday started out in wonderful fashion for the Lady Miner volleyball team, but it couldn't sustain the early momentum and lost both of its matches to wrap up the weekend at the Oredigger Classic at Colorado School of Mines.

The Lady Miners had their most impressive single game performance of the early season in their first match Saturday, beating defending Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion Western New Mexico 30-17 in the opening game. However, WNMU came back and won the next three games to take a 3-1 decision.

On Saturday night, UMR dropped a 32-30 game to the host school and ended up getting swept in three games.

UMR jumped out to a 13-2 lead to start the Western New Mexico match and went on to win the game thanks in large part to a .321 hitting percentage. But as that mark started to decline over the course of the match, so did the team's fortunes.

Western New Mexico won game two 30-22 as it took charge in the early stages of that game, then held off the Lady Miners in the third game for a 30-27 win. UMR was within a point at 22-21 after back-to-back service aces by Bridget Williams but couldn't catch all the way up. The Mustangs won the fourth game 30-13.

Leandra Pelae led UMR with 15 kills while Lauren Summerville finished with 11. Ashlyn Balensiefer had 39 assists while Williams and Pelae combined for 32 digs. The Lady Miners finished the match with a .122 hitting percentage after the fast start.

In the 3-0 loss to Colorado School of Mines, the Lady Miners and Orediggers battled until CSM came away with the first game win at 32-30. Then, just like in the Western New Mexico match, the Lady Miner attack percentage fell in the last two games as the team was guilty of 20 attack errors in the final two games, won by CSM 30-17 and 30-21.

Pelae and Summerville had nine kills apiece, while Balensiefer finished with 27 assists and 14 digs.

UMR will be back in action Tuesday when it faces Washburn in Topeka, Kan.

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