York, Neb.— Spire volleyball swept York University 3-0 on the road Saturday, October 17th, winning 25-17, 25-22, 25-15 at Freeman Center in York, Nebraska. The Spires improved to 4-3 in conference play.

Kaylee Kindall led the Spires with 12 kills and no attack errors on 18 attempts, hitting .667 while contributing six block assists. Maddison Kruse added 11 kills, and Saige Hadley finished with eight kills and eight digs. Addison Baker directed the offense with 28 assists, while Daniella Rivera-Perez led the defense with 13 digs.

Dakotah Garcia served consecutive aces to give the Spires a 3-1 lead and force an early York timeout in the opening set. After the Panthers pulled within 12-11, a Hadley kill started the USM response. A four-point run featuring kills by Makenza Holly, Kindall and Kruse extended the advantage to 21-14. Kindall supplied two late kills before Hadley closed the set with a kill assisted by Rivera-Perez. The Spires hit .348 in the opener.

The second set required a comeback. Kindall and Sammy Jo Kirk combined on a block to complete a four-point run that gave Saint Mary its first lead at 12-11, but York surged ahead. A Merriex kill by the Panthers put the hosts up 19-14 and prompted a Spires timeout. Trailing 20-16, Saint Mary scored five consecutive points, with a Hannah Weisz ace cutting the deficit to one before a Baker-Kindall block secured a 21-20 lead.

York tied the set at 21, but the Spires answered with three straight points. Kruse's kill off a Baker assist made it 24-21. After Jassania Joseph kept YU alive with a kill, a York service error ended the set at 25-22. The Spires secured the two-set advantage despite hitting .083 in the second.

Consecutive Kruse kills broke a 4-4 tie in the third set, and Saint Mary expanded its lead to 15-7 when Hadley and Kindall combined on a block to finish a four-point run. Cierra Poldberg converted the only attack of the match for a kill, assisted by Weisz, to make it 21-12. The Spires' final three points came on a Kindall kill, a Panther attack error and Hadley's match-ending kill off a Baker assist.

USM finished with 37 kills, a .250 hitting percentage, 39 digs and seven team blocks. The Spires held York to 23 kills and a .000 hitting percentage. Joseph led YU, which fell to 2-6 in conference play, with seven kills, four block assists and two aces.
 
Coming Up…

USM volleyball will head back to Leavenworth for a week full of home action in Ryan Sports Center. They kick off competition against the Avila University Eagles on Wednesday, October 21^st at 7 p.m. to honor their annual Shine Like Prine Donate Life Night.