North STL News

The University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team secured a 3-1 victory over Wayne State (Mich.) in their final match at the 2025 Midwest Regional Crossover, held at the Hammond Sportsplex in Hammond, Indiana. With this win, the Tritons improved their season record to 16-4, while the Warriors dropped to 14-4.

In the opening set, UMSL established a seven-point lead at 17-10 following a block by Alayna Santel and Iyannah Jackson on Paige Giehtbrock. The Tritons maintained control and finished the set with a 25-21 win after a kill from Bridget Cassady. Santel led UMSL with six kills in the first set, while Cassady and Maggie Johnson each contributed five.

UMSL started strong in the second set with a 6-2 lead, but Wayne State responded to take a 15-13 advantage. The Tritons regained momentum with an 8-3 run and ultimately won the set 25-19 by scoring the last four points.

Wayne State took charge early in the third set, building a 17-10 lead before UMSL responded with an 11-2 run to move ahead 21-19. Rylee Edson served seven consecutive points during that stretch. However, Wayne State rallied late to take the third set 25-23.

In the fourth and deciding set, UMSL overcame a five-point deficit midway through and used an 11-3 run to take control at 19-16 after another kill from Cassady. Despite Wayne State closing within one point late in the frame, UMSL closed out the match with a 25-22 win.

UMSL posted a .273 hitting percentage for the match, tallying 62 kills against 21 errors on 150 attempts. Santel recorded a match-high of 21 kills; Johnson added 16 and Cassady finished with 13. Both Cassady and Jackson had four blocks each. Caitlin Bishop contributed with 49 assists and collected 13 digs, while Skylar Weaver led all players with 27 digs.

Wayne State hit .253 for the match, finishing with 59 kills against an equal number of errors as UMSL on as many swings. Kayla Giroux paced Wayne State with 19 kills and six blocks; Giehtbrock added 14 kills and Katerina Stout chipped in with eleven. Kayla Dulgar matched Bishop’s assist total at forty-nine for Wayne State.

Looking ahead, UMSL will begin the second half of Great Lakes Valley Conference play at home on Friday, October 24th when they host Missouri S&T at Mark Twain Building starting at 6 p.m.