Olathe, Kan.— The Spires overcame an opening-set loss and a four-point deficit in the nail-biting fifth set to defeat the MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers 3-2 on Tuesday evening at the Cook Center in Olathe, Kansas. The Spires won 13-25, 25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 16-14, improving to 5-3 while dropping the Pioneers to 4-3.

MidAmerica Naz remained in control in the opening set after an early kill by Kaylee Kindall pulled USM within one point. The Pioneers answered with a 7-2 run to build a 12-5 advantage and continued pulling away for a 25-13 win. The Spires responded boldly in the second set, breaking a 9-9 tie with three straight points during a stretch that included a kill by Emma Murphy. After MNU tied the score at 12, another kill from Kindall helped the Spires regain control on the way to a 25-20 victory.

The third set featured another Saint Mary response after a lead slipped away. A kill by Sammy Jo Kirk helped the Spires build a 12-6 advantage, but MNU scored six consecutive points to tie the set. Neither side separated late, and the score remained even at 23-23 before Murphy delivered a kill, adding to her monstrous night. A Pioneer attack error on the next point completed Saint Mary's 25-23 win and gave the Spires a 2-1 match lead.

USM opened the fourth set with a 6-2 edge, but the Pioneers rallied and eventually moved ahead 17-10. The Spires cut the deficit to three late behind another run from Murphy, but MidAmerica Naz took the next point to close a 25-21 set and force the electric fifth set.

The Spires faced another test after falling behind 7-3 in Set 5. A 5-1 run pulled USM even at 8-8, setting up a back-and-forth finish. Kindall tied the score at 13 with an exclamation point, but the Pioneers regained a 14-13 lead and moved within one point of the match. Saint Mary then scored the final three points, benefiting from a service error and two attack errors to complete the 16-14 comeback.

Kaylee Kindall led the Spires with 10 kills, seven block assists and a .267 hitting percentage. Saige Hadley, Emma Murphy and Sammy Jo Kirk added eight kills apiece, with Murphy contributing five block assists. Addison Baker finished with 26 assists and 14 digs, Phenyx Reust had 16 assists, nine digs and two aces, and Dakotah Garcia paced the defense with 16 digs. The Spires totaled 46 kills, 71 digs and 11 blocks, using their work at the net and a composed closing rally to secure the five-set victory.
 
Coming Up…

The Spires will continue life on the road this weekend as they head to the College of Saint Mary Labor Day Classic in Omaha, Nebraska. USM will kick off the weekend with two games on Friday, September 4^th starting with the No. 11 ranked Dakota Wesleyan University Tigers at 10 a.m. and followed by the Dordt University Defenders at 6 p.m.