North STL News

The University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team continued its strong performance in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) with a straight-set victory over Upper Iowa on Friday in Fayette, Iowa. The win extends the Tritons' current streak to five matches and brings their season record to 12-4 overall and 5-0 in conference play. Upper Iowa's record now stands at 1-14 overall and 1-4 in the GLVC.

In the opening set, Upper Iowa held an early four-point lead, but Missouri-St. Louis responded with a late run, taking a 20-18 advantage after a kill from Maggie Johnson. Although Lydia Imbrogno tied the set for the Peacocks at 20, the Tritons finished strong, closing out the frame on a 5-2 run to secure a 25-22 win. Johnson contributed five kills in this set, with Alayna Santel adding four and Addison Voorhees finishing with three.

Missouri-St. Louis fell behind again early in the second set but used an 8-3 surge midway through to establish a 17-12 lead following another kill by Santel. Upper Iowa narrowed the gap to three points at 18-15 before the Tritons pulled away, scoring seven of the last nine points for a 25-17 victory. Johnson led with eight kills in this set, while Santel added three more.

The third set was closely contested, featuring eight ties and five lead changes. The Tritons trailed late at 20-16 but ended the match on a decisive 9-1 run that included three kills from Johnson and contributions from Iyannah Jackson with one kill and two blocks.

Overall, Missouri-St. Louis hit .273 for the match with 46 kills against 13 errors on 121 attempts. Johnson achieved a career-high with 19 kills; Santel recorded 11 kills. Reese Baker served three aces, Caitlin Bishop distributed 40 assists, Skylar Weaver collected 14 digs, and Jackson had four blocks.

Upper Iowa finished with a .174 hitting percentage, recording 36 kills against 17 errors on 109 swings. Martha Pace led her team with 12 kills; Kailey Porter had 11 kills; Grace Fruzen provided 31 assists; Morgan Block tallied a match-high of 17 digs; Alexis Moses contributed five blocks.

Missouri-St. Louis will next face Truman State on Saturday afternoon at Pershing Arena in Kirksville, Missouri.