Senior middle blocker Mya Elliott had 10 kills Saturday against Southwest Baptist as she helped the second-ranked UMSL volleyball team close out an undefeated regular season. (Photo by Patrick Clark/Athlete’s Eye Photography)
Volleyball
The University of Missouri–St. Louis volleyball team completed an undefeated regular season by sweeping Drury and Southwest Baptist on the road over the weekend. The Tritons, who moved up to No. 2 in the AVCA/Taraflex Division II Top 25 coaches’ poll released last Monday, beat the Panthers 25-23, 25-18, 25-15 on Friday night before topping the Bearcats 25-13, 25-16, 25-16 to close out the Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule. Senior Lexie Rang led the Tritons in kills in both matches, with 13 against Drury and 14 against Southwest Baptist. But sophomore setter Caitlin Bishop continued to spread the ball around as she has throughout the season, totaling 77 assists on the weekend. Senior Delaney Humm had a total of 23 kills, and senior middle blocker Mya Elliott had 10 against the Bearcats. Coach Ryan Young’s squad improved to 28-0, including 13-0 in GLVC play, and it will be seeded first when the conference tournament gets underway on Friday in Williamsville, Illinois. UMSL will take on No. 8 seed Upper Iowa in its quarterfinal match.
Women’s Basketball
The Tritons went 1-1 over the weekend as they opened their season with a road trip in Michigan. UMSL had a difficult first assignment, facing No. 3 Grand Valley State in Friday’s opener and wound up losing 58-45 against the Lakers, but it bounced back well on Saturday afternoon with a 67-47 victory over Davenport. Amaya Blake scored a team-high 17 points in Friday’s loss, but Jalysa Stokes was the only other player with more than eight points, finishing with 12. Stokes led three players in double figures with 19 on Saturday. Morgan Ramthun had 11 points and 11 rebounds in the victory over Davenport. The Tritons held the Panthers to 34% shooting in the victory. UMSL’s lone game this week will be at home against University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy at the Mark Twain Athletic Center.
Men’s Cross Country
Senior Benjamin VandenBrink was among the individual qualifiers announced last Monday for the NCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country Championship meet. VandenBrink was selected after finishing 10th at the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional on Nov. 4. He will be the first UMSL runner in history to compete in the national championship when he runs in the 10-kilometer race on Saturday at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course on the campus of Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Missouri. VandenBrink will represent the GLVC along with Cortland Ross and Noah McIntyre from Illinois Springfield as well as the entire team from Lewis.
