ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Quincy University women's volleyball team saw its nine-match win streak come to an end on Saturday in St. Louis, falling in five sets to Missouri–St. Louis in a battle of GLVC unbeatens. The Hawks suffered their first conference loss of the year, with the Tritons edging them 3-2 (25-18, 25-27, 22-25, 25-19, 17-15) inside the Mark Twain Building.
UMSL jumped out early in the opening set, using a pair of runs to create separation before closing out a 25-18 win. Quincy responded in set two, fighting back from a late deficit as
Janelle Pye-Blacknard and
Lilly Marth delivered clutch points down the stretch to secure a 27-25 victory. The Hawks then grabbed a 2-1 match lead after rallying late in set three, closing on a 4-0 run fueled by two service aces from
Selin Turgut and a Pye-Blacknard kill to take it 25-22.
The Tritons evened the match in the fourth, never trailing after jumping out to an early lead and cruising 25-19 to force a decisive fifth set. The finale was a back-and-forth thriller, with neither side leading by more than two.
Susanna Beretti gave Quincy match point at 14-13 with back-to-back kills, but UMSL answered with a block and later capitalized on a service error before finishing off the set 17-15 to claim the match.
Individually, Beretti led the way with 23 kills, her fourth match this season where she surpassed the 20-kill mark, while adding 7 digs and a block. Pye-Blacknard chipped in 15 kills, 23 digs, and two aces, while Turgut contributed 8 kills, 14 digs, and two service aces of her own.
Zeynep Cetin was highly efficient with 10 kills on a .360 hitting percentage, and setter
Elena Kasavica orchestrated the attack with 54 assists to go with 16 digs. On the defensive end, Marth set a new career high with 21 digs, anchoring the back row.
Quincy hit .172 for the match compared to UMSL's .257, finishing with 66 kills, 82 digs, and 9 service aces. The loss drops the Hawks to 12-3 overall and 3-1 in GLVC play, while UMSL improves to 11-4 and 4-0 in the league.
The Hawks will now return home to defend the nest on Friday, October 10, hosting Rockhurst University in another GLVC showdown. First serve is set for 6:00 PM inside Pepsi Arena.
