Parkville, Mo.—
Game One:
The Park University Pirates used an eight-point run to erase the Spire lead in the third set and complete a 25-19, 25-19, 25-13 sweep Friday, August 28th.
The Spires stayed close throughout the opening set and pulled even at 6 on a service ace by
Kathryn VanSkiver. Park later created separation, but USM scored consecutive points to trim the deficit to 23-19. Park answered with the final two points to take the set.
Park carried that momentum into the second set, building an 11-4 advantage before a kill by
MJ Stephens stopped the early run. Facing set point at 24-15, the Spires responded with four straight points. The rally included a block, a kill and a service ace, cutting Park's lead to five before the hosts secured the set with a kill.
The Spires produced its strongest start in the third set.
Kayla Adeoye contributed during a surge that gave her squad a 6-5 lead, and USM moved back in front 7-6 after Park tied the score. The match turned there, as Park won the next eight points to build a 14-7 advantage. Park scored the final two points of the match and ended the sweep with a block.
Kayla Adeoye led the Spires with six kills, a .417 hitting percentage and 7.5 points.
Sammy Jo Kirk added five kills while hitting .250 and shared the team lead with three total blocks.
MJ Stephens finished with four kills, while
Addison Baker recorded nine assists and seven digs.
Kathryn VanSkiver contributed six assists, five digs and an ace.
The Spires held a 9-7 advantage in total blocks, including two solo blocks and one block assist from
Emma Murphy. Park finished with advantages in kills (35-22), hitting percentage (.244-.011), assists (32-18), digs (39-35) and service aces (10-3). Iverson had nine kills and hit .438 for Park, which relied on its third-set run to close the match.
Game Two:
The Spires defeated Doane (Nebraska) 3-1 in game two of the Park University Tournament, winning 25-21, 29-27, 18-25 and 25-21. The victory moved Saint Mary to 2-3 after a balanced effort that produced 45 kills, 76 digs and nine blocks.
Saint Mary established a 10-6 advantage in the opening set when a kill by
Sammy Jo Kirk completed an early run. Doane later narrowed the margin to 23-21, but
Kaylee Kindall answered with a kill to reach set point before
Emma Murphy delivered the set-ending kill for a 25-21 victory.
The second set featured the match's tightest finish. USM fell behind 9-5 and trailed 14-13 before two kills from
Sammy Jo Kirk helped create a 17-14 lead. Doane recovered and moved in front 24-23, but
Kayla Adeoye tied the score with a kill. Facing a 27-26 deficit later in the extended set,
Sammy Jo Kirk struck again to pull even, and consecutive Doane attack errors completed a three-point run that gave Saint Mary a 29-27 win.
Doane responded in the third set, turning a 6-6 tie into an 11-6 lead and eventually extending the margin to 20-11. Saint Mary mounted a rally behind two kills from
MJ Stephens, another kill by
Makenza Holly and a service ace, cutting the deficit to 20-15. Doane steadied itself and closed the set 5-3 for a 25-18 victory.
Saint Mary regained control early in the fourth. A kill by
Kaylee Kindall capped a four-point run for a 10-6 lead, and
Sammy Jo Kirk later extended the advantage to 17-12 with another kill.
Makenza Holly produced a kill to reach match point at 24-20, then ended the contest with another kill after Doane scored once.
Sammy Jo Kirk led the Spires with 10 kills, while
Makenza Holly recorded nine kills, hit .320 and contributed three blocks.
Kaylee Kindall and
Kayla Adeoye added eight kills apiece.
Phenyx Reust distributed 20 assists and collected seven digs, while
Addison Baker finished with 19 assists and 11 digs.
Dakotah Garcia anchored the defense with 18 digs, and
Emma Murphy totaled four blocks as USM secured the four-set victory.
Coming Up…
Day two of the Park University Tournament will commence tomorrow morning for USM. The Spires will first face-off against Hannibal-LaGrange University at 10:00 a.m. directly followed by a noon match against Wayland Baptist University.
