Leavenworth, Kan.— Spire volleyball swept Friends University 3-0 this evening at Ryan Sports Center, winning 25-20, 25-17 and 25-9. The Spires broke late ties in the first two sets with decisive scoring runs before opening the third with seven unanswered points. USM finished with 39 kills and a .317 hitting percentage, while Friends recorded 18 kills and hit minus .037.

Emma Murphy led the Spires with 11 kills, hit .375 and added three block assists. Saige Hadley contributed nine kills in 21 attempts, finishing with a .429 hitting percentage, 10 digs and three block assists. Addison Baker directed the attack with 28 assists and added 10 digs and three kills. Saint Mary committed only seven attack errors, including just one in each of the final two sets.

In the opening set, Saint Mary turned a 6-5 deficit into an 11-6 lead with six consecutive points, including a Makenza Holly kill off a perfect ball from Baker. Friends answered with five straight points, getting a kill and two aces from Taylor during the rally. After another tie at 16-16, Kaylee Kindall's dominant kill started a second six-point Spires run. Murphy and Holly combined to block Taylor during that stretch, and a Friends error made it 22-16. Kayla Adeoye finished the 25-20 set with a kill from a Baker assist.

The Spires trailed 6-2 in the second set after consecutive McGregor aces but scored five straight points to move ahead 7-6. Later, Dakotah Garcia's ace completed another five-point run, turning an 11-9 deficit into a 14-11 lead. Friends tied it at 14-14, prompting a Saint Mary timeout, before the Spires claimed 11 of the final 14 points. Two Murphy kills followed by consecutive Hannah Weisz aces stretched the advantage to 20-15. Hadley's kill from Baker closed the set at 25-17.

The Spires 7-0 start to the third set included consecutive blocks by Kindall and Murphy and ended with a Weisz ace. USM extended the lead to 14-2, and Sammy Jo Kirk contributed a kill from Baker to make it 16-4 in Kirk's only set played. The Falcons trimmed the margin to 17-8 on consecutive Lynzee Neal aces, but Saint Mary responded with six straight points. That run included a Kindall kill, two Hadley kills and another Weisz ace. Following a service error and a Kindall kill, Murphy finished the sweep with a kill from Baker.

Garcia led the Spire defense with 18 digs, while Daniella Rivera-Perez added 10 to help the Spires total 61. Holly recorded four block assists as Saint Mary finished with six team blocks. Kindall and Adeoye supplied six kills apiece, and Weisz accounted for four of the team's five aces. Taylor paced Friends with nine kills and three aces. The Spires improved their hitting percentage in each set, finishing at .429 in the third with 10 kills and one attack error in 21 attempts.
 
Coming Up…

USM will spend the weekend on the road as they travel to Coyote territory on Saturday, October 3^rd. The Spires will take on Kansas Wesleyan at 6 p.m. in Mabee Arena in Salina, Kansas.