Leavenworth, Kan.— USM volleyball rallied on Senior Day from a 2-1 set deficit to defeat Tabor College 3-2 in the final regular season match this afternoon on Saturday, November 7, at Ryan Sports Center. The Spires won 23-25, 25-14, 23-25, 25-13, 15-7.
USM fell behind 4-0 in the opening set before an ace by
MJ Stephens tied it at 7-7.
Makenza Holly and
Maddison Kruse combined for a block to complete a five-point run and put the Spires ahead 13-11. Later, kills by
Emma Murphy and
Kaylee Kindall erased a 23-21 deficit, but the Bluejays claimed the final two points on an Nederveen kill and a Saint Mary attack error.
The Spires answered with a seven-point run in the second set, extending an 8-6 lead to 15-6.
Hannah Weisz contributed an ace and Kindall added a solo block before consecutive Kindall kills capped the surge. USM hit .455 in the set, which Kruse finished with a kill off an
Addison Baker assist. In the third, Baker's kill tied the score at 13-13 after the Spires had trailed 12-7. Saint Mary moved ahead 20-16, but Tabor scored five straight points and later won the final three points to take the set.
USM built a 21-10 lead in the fourth before TC scored three consecutive points, cutting the margin to eight and prompting a Spires timeout. The home team would respond with four straight points, ending the set on a block by Holly and Kruse. Baker's kill helped the Spires establish a 6-1 lead in the fifth, and they never trailed. Kindall delivered the match-winning kill as USM finished the deciding set with eight kills, no attack errors and a .471 hitting percentage.
Kindall led the attack with 19 kills and no errors, hitting .576. Baker distributed 45 assists while adding nine kills, nine digs and a .533 hitting percentage. Murphy finished with eight kills, Kruse supplied seven and Holly contributed five.
Saige Hadley added four kills in two sets.
Daniella Rivera-Perez anchored the back row with 27 digs, followed by
Isabella Kietzmann with 15 and Stephens with 14.
Kathryn VanSkiver added eight digs. At the net, Holly recorded six block assists and Kruse had five, helping USM finish with nine team blocks. Stephens and Weisz each served two aces, accounting for four of the Spires' six.
The Spires finished with 56 kills and 85 digs while hitting .239. Nederveen led Tabor with 13 kills and added 10 digs, while Fuamatu recorded 16 digs and three aces. The Bluejays totaled 39 kills, 70 digs and four blocks, committing 26 attack errors and finishing with a .076 hitting percentage.
Coming Up…
That wraps up the 2026 regular season for the Spires. The road to a KCAC Championship officially begins Tuesday, November 10th, as our No. 7 seeded Spires will travel the No. 2 Bethel College Threshers for the quarterfinal match with set one slated to begin at 7 p.m. in Thresher Gymnasium.
