In the opener S&T (2-7) hit only .028 percent (27k/24/e/109ta) while the Wildcats hit closer to 20 percent with 41 kills in 113 total attacks. The Miners trailed for most of the first set before rallying to tie the match on a Samantha Klump kill at 15 all. The game went back and forth over the next couple of points before WSC broke a 19 all tie finishing the game on a 6-2 run to take the set.

In game two S&T jumped out to a 4-1 lead but Wayne State quickly responded with an 8-0 run taking a 9-4 lead. The Miners would fight back to within a couple of points before the Wildcats pulled away with another long run taking its biggest lead at 20-10. S&T tried to rally getting within seven before WSC took the set.

In the third set S&T came out on fire racing out to a 10-2 lead but were unable to hold onto it as Wayne State came back to tie the game at 16 all before concluding the game on a 9-2 run to win the match.

Julie Meyer and Leandra Pelae had six kills apiece in the loss for the Miners.

3-0

In the finale against Southwest Baptist (5-3) the first set was tight early on being tied at 10-10 before the Bearcats began to take control with a 6-2 run and S&T wouldn't get closer than three points the rest of the set as SBU pulled away with the win.

The Miners got out to a 5-1 lead in the second set before the Bearcats used an 11-0 run to erase the lead and take a 2-0 lead with the 25-15 win.

S&T forced a fourth set by breaking a 14 all tie with an 11-4 run to finish the game but were unable to sustain the momentum as SBU took the fourth game 25-13.

Klump finished the match with a team-high 10 kills in the match. Lisa Bradley had 16 assists while Bridget Williams finished with 12 digs.

3-1

Despite having more kills than the Lions, 46-43 the Lady Miners' committed 26 attack errors to just 13 for A&M-Commerce and had a total of 24 errors on serves while Commerece had 13 service aces in the match.

S&T trailed most of game hanging tough in the early going trailing 12-10 before a 7-1 run by the Lions stretched the lead to eight points. After a brief rally by the Miners' cut the deficit to six, the Lions scored the final five points of set one for the victory.

In the second set A&M-Commerece led throughout building an early five point lead while taking advantage of 11 Miner errors to pull away with a nine point victory. In set three though it was back and forth the entire game with neither side holding a lead of more than three points.

With the score tied at 15 S&T got back-to-back kills from Leandra Pelae and Klump to take a a two point lead. It would extend its lead to 23-20 before the Lions rallied to within a point but Kit Spears spiked home two of the final three points for the win.

After a brief lead in set four at 3-1, A&M-Commerece took the lead for good with five straight points before slowly pulling away with the set win.

S&T will be back in action on Saturday afternoon against Wayne State (Neb.) starting at 12:30 p.m. in Bolivar before concluding the tournament with the host school Southwest Baptist at 5:30 p.m.

Samantha Klump finished the match with a game-high 14 kills while Lisa Bradley had 19 assists and Bridget Williams finished with 18 digs.

3-1

The Lady Miners' volleyball squad fell in three games to Arkansas Tech, 13-25, 20-25, 11-25 on Friday morning in the first game of the SBU Tournament in Bolivar, Mo.

S&T (2-4) had a total attack percentage of -.012 (21k-22e-86ta) in the loss. Lynsey Jorgenson had five kills in the match while Hope Mooberry and Erin Bekebrede had three apiece. Lisa Bradley had seven assists in the contest and Bridget Williams had 13 digs.

The Golden Suns (5-0) used a 16-4 run in game one to break a 4-4 all tie to take game one. In game two the Lady Miners' fell behind 9-0 to start the game but were able to rally back within three points at 20-23 before ATU got the final two points to close out the game.

S&T held a brief lead at 2-1 in the third game before a 6-0 run by the Golden Suns gave them the lead. The Lady Miners' battled back within 6-8, but it was the closest they would get though as Arkansas Tech went on other long run outscoring the Lady Miners' 17-5 the rest of the way for the win.

3-0

The Missouri S&T volleyball squad fell to 20th ranked Central Missouri 3-0 on Tuesday evening at the Bullman Multipurpose Building.

The Lady Miners' (2-3) dropped the opener 19-25 but hung tough with the Jennies (3-1) being within a point at 11-10 midway through the first set before UCM went on a 7-2 run to take control. S&T battled getting within four points but the Jens got back-to-back kills to push the lead back to six points before closing the game out.

The Lady Miners' got off to a strong start in the second set by scoring six of the first nine points but Central Missouri quickly rallied with a long run turning S&T's three point lead into a four point deficit at 13-9. The Jennies continued their run stretching the lead to 22-14 before the Lady Miners' got a kill from Erin Bekebrede to stop the run but they were unable to keep the momentum as UCM scored the final three points of the set for a 2-0 lead.

S&T got off to another solid start in the third set racing out to a 9-4 lead but again the Jens battled back to tie the game at 9-9. After some back and forth action the Lady Miners' scored three straight points to take an 18-16 lead but weren't able to sustain the run as UCM took a 23-18 lead with seven straight points. The Jens held on as S&T battled back to within three staving off a couple of match points before closing out the match.

Julie Meyer led S&T with six kills in the match. Kit Spears and Bekebrede had five each while Tory Smiley and Danielle Kracl each finished with double digit assist totals 13 and 11 respectively.

The Lady Miners' will compete this weekend in the SBU Tournament beginning on Friday morning against Arkansas Tech in Bolivar, Mo. starting at 11 a.m.

3-0

S&T beat the Griffons 25-22 in the opening set, then after falling 25-20 in the second, won the final two sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-23 to move over the .500 mark for the first time since the program started last season.

Truman State, which won all four of its games in the event, beat S&T 25-15, 25-21 and 25-22.

The Lady Miners (2-2) led the entire first set against the Griffons, wrapping it up on a kill by freshman Erin Bekebrede. After Western took the second set, S&T took an immediate 7-2 lead in the third set.

Western rallied and grabbed its first lead at 16-15, but S&T made a rally of its own by scoring the final seven points to win the set. The rally began on a block by Samantha Klump, then she had another block in the run to keep it alive. Danielle Kracl’s kill ended the third game in victory for S&T.

Western led briefly in the early stages of set four, but the Lady Miners took the lead for good at 24-23 on a kill by Klump. S&T wrapped up the win on a successful block by Katie Herington.

Bekebrede had 14 kills for S&T in the win while Klump had 12 as well as three solo blocks. Kracl finished with 31 assists and Bridget Williams had 24 digs.

In the later match, Truman never trailed in the opening set and was able to hold off the Lady Miners in the final two sets. S&T was as close as 23-21 in set two after a kill by Julie Meyer, and was up 20-19 in the third before the Bulldogs scored six of the final eight points of the game.

Bekebrede, who was named to the all-classic team for her efforts along with Williams, and Meyer had five kills apiece for S&T, while Kracl had 12 assists and Williams 12 digs for the Lady Miners.

S&T will host nationally-ranked Central Missouri Wednesday at 6 p.m.

MIDDLE OF EVERYWHERE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Players of the Classic:
Danielle Alexander, MH, Grand Valley State
Pamela Cartegena, OH, Pittsburg State

All-Classic Team:
Danielle Alexander, MH, Grand Valley State
Erin Bekebrede, OH, Missouri S&T
Whitney Boehler, DS-L, Truman State
Pamela Cartegena, OH, Pittsburg State
Allie Chevren, MH, Truman State
Jessica Hansen, DS-L, North Alabama
Linda Igbinigie, MH, Pittsburg State
Whitney Sanders, MH-RS, North Alabama
Bridget Williams, DS-L, Missouri S&T
Sammie Williams, RS, Pittsburg State

Missouri S&T bounced back from a season-opening loss to gain a split on the first day of the Middle of Everywhere Classic, knocking off St. Cloud State in a thrilling nightcap to the action with a 3-2 victory.

North Alabama beat S&T earlier in the day 3-0, winning by scores of 25-21, 25-19 and 25-22.

The Lady Miners won two of the first three sets over the Huskies, sandwiching wins of 25-16 and 25-23 around a 25-17 loss in set two. St. Cloud State forced a decisive fifth set by winning 25-16, but S&T scored the final three points in the last set to come away with the 15-12 win.

S&T built a 9-4 lead early in the fifth set, but the Huskies drew even at 10 and again at 12. With a chance to take the lead, SCSU's Kristen Scott had her kill attempt blocked by Samantha Kiump. Klump then came up with her 13th kill of the game to move the Lady Miners to game point; an attack error by the Huskies on the next point ended the game.

Freshman Julie Meyer had a team-high 15 kills for S&T, while Klump had 13 and Lauren Summerville six. Danielle Kracl had 22 assists and Tory Smiley added 15, while Bridget WIlliams was one of three players in double figures in digs with a game-high 24. Kracl also had four service aces for S&T.

In the first game of the day, the Lady Miners had a lead in the early stages of game one and for much of game three, but the Lions were able to grab the lead in each set. UNA took the lead for good in the final game at 19-18 and held off S&T's late rally attempt.

Leandra Pelae led the Lady Miners with five kills in the UNA game, while Smiley had eight assists and Williams came up with 11 digs. North Alabama recorded a .223 attack percentage as Whitney Sanders finished with a game-high 16 kills.

The Lady Miners (1-1) will face Missouri Western Saturday at noon and third-ranked Truman State in the final session of the Middle of Everywhere Classic at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs pulled out a five-set win over Missouri-St. Louis before routing sixth-ranked Grand Valley State in their second game of the day.

Action begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with two games on the slate.

The Lady Miners open their second season of competition this week with high hopes of making a big jump in the win column.

Missouri S&T, which fielded a team with 14 freshmen on its roster during its first year on the floor in 2007, won only three times over the course of that first year. However, head coach Jason Holt is optimistic that the extensive playing experience the team gained over that season will begin to pay dividends when the team opens play Friday.

“With a lot of hard work, strong teamwork and chemistry, the sky’s the limit for this team,” Holt said. “We want to compete in every match, learn to work together and make sure the hard work we’ve done pays off on the court.”

Fans will get their first opportunity to see S&T on the floor Monday when it hosts its annual intrasquad scrimmage game (7 p.m. at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building), then come five home games to open the 2008 schedule which begins with the Middle of Everywhere Classic Friday and Saturday.

S&T will face North Alabama in its season opener at 2 p.m. Friday and then takes on St. Cloud State at 6 p.m. Saturday’s slate for S&T has it facing a pair of teams from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, as it plays Missouri Western at noon and third-ranked Truman State at 6 p.m. to wrap up the weekend.

As far as the personnel goes, Holt feels his team has plenty of depth that will create competition for playing time throughout the year.

“I believe this team is a very deep team in each and every position,” he said. “We have recruited an outstanding group of players over the last two years and believe that is the first step towards bringing us in the right direction.”

S&T has six of its seven starters back from last year, losing only setter Ashlyn Balensiefer. Three players will seek to earn the starting role there, as sophomore Tory Smiley (Springfield, Mo./Glendale) and redshirt freshman Lisa Bradley (Littleton, Colo./Columbine) will compete with incoming freshman Danielle Kracl (Omaha, Neb./Burke).

The Lady Miners will also have a competitive situation at the libero spot, with returning starter Bridget Williams (Topeka, Kan./Hayden) batting returner Annie Smith (Florissant, Mo./Incarnate Word) and Jennifer Kegler (St. Louis, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy) for the starting spot. Williams ranked among the leaders in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in digs with 4.4 a game as a freshman, while Smith was among the team leaders in that category.

At the hitter positions, the Lady Miners have an experienced group of players that have been bolstered by the addition of some talented freshman who figure to challenge for playing time.

The middle hitters are paced by the team’s lone upperclassman, junior Lynsey Jorgenson (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh), while sophomores Katie Herington (Kalona, Iowa), Samantha Klump (Ash Grove, Mo.) and Hope Mooberry (Morton, Ill.) also figure to see plenty of action.

At the right side hitter spots, S&T returns its second– and third-best hitters from a year ago in Lauren Summerville (Fenton, Mo./Rockwood Summit) and Maddie Owak (Tinley Park, Ill./Chicago Christian), while redshirt freshman Kaci Herron (Jonesboro, Ark.) will see time there as well as at middle hitter.

S&T’s deepest position is at outside hitter with six players vying for playing time. Three members of the team’s freshman class — Erin Bekebrede (St. Charles, Mo.), Chelsea Winkelmann (Hermann, Mo.) and Julie Meyer (Washington, Mo./St. Francis Borgia) — figure to challenge the three returners for significant playing time.

Leandra Pelae (Dunlap, Ill.), who finished 10th in the GLVC in kills during her inaugural collegiate season with 3.8 per game, heads the contingent at that position and will be joined by returning letterwinner Jessica Laughary (Wheaton, Mo.) and redshirt freshman Kit Spears (Valley Center, Kan.).

ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF EVERYWHERE CLASSIC:
Tournament web site

The Lady Miners’ season-opening opponent, North Alabama, finished 2007 with a 20-16 record and missed the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Lions, the 2006 national runner-up, has won 138 games against 38 losses over the last five seasons, which included a NCAA Division II title in 2003.

St. Cloud State was 10-21 in its final season in the North Central Conference, the Huskies have joined the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference for the upcoming year. One senior and three juniors dot the roster which includes six first-year players.

Missouri Western finished 10-22 a year ago under first-year head coach Tiffany Mastin. The Griffons may have the youngest team in this year’s event with no seniors and 11 freshmen on the roster.

Truman State enters the season ranked third in the AVCA pre-season poll and was picked to win the MIAA title over No. 2-ranked Washburn in the coaches poll. The Bulldogs have six returning starters for the upcoming year including All-America performers Allie Cherven and Melissa Keck.

The 2008 Middle of Everywhere Classic will begin at 10 a.m. each day with five sets of matches taking place on two courts in the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building. Besides Truman State, the field also includes pre-season No. 6 Grand Valley State and No. 17 Pittsburg State.

Truman State and Grand Valley State will face off Friday at 4 p.m., while Pittsburg State will take on GVSU Saturday at 4 p.m.

The balance of the field includes Missouri-St. Louis and Southern Indiana from the Great Lakes Valley Conference and Southwestern Oklahoma State.

The Lady Miners were ranked 16th in the nation in home attendance in 2007, averaging 443 fans per home contest which was the best mark in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. S&T 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.

Missouri S&T had a total attendance of 5,311 fans in its 12 home matches, the highest net figure in the GLVC for the year as well.

The national leader in home attendance was the University of Nebraska-Kearney with an average of 1,195 spectators per match, while Southwest Minnesota State and Washburn were second and third respectively.

Missouri S&T will open its 2008 season at home August 29 when it hosts the Middle of Everything Classic at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.