The UMSL volleyball team locked up an undefeated conference season by knocking off Rockhurst in Saturday’s regular-season finale and will carry a 16-match winning streak into Friday’s GLVC Tournament quarterfinal against No. 8 seed Lewis. (Photo by Patrick Clark/Athlete’s Eye Photography)
Volleyball
The University of Missouri–St. Louis volleyball team knocked off William Jewell and Rockhurst over the weekend to secure its third Great Lakes Valley Conference championship in the past four seasons. The Tritons stormed past the Cardinals 25-11, 25-14, 25-18 on Friday night at the Mark Twain Athletic Center and topped Rockhurst 25-18, 14-25, 26-24, 25-20 on Saturday in a matchup of the top two teams in the GLVC standings. That win capped UMSL’s second undefeated conference season in the past three years, and Coach Ryan Young‘s team has now won 16 straight matches. Alayna Santel led the Tritons in kills in both of the weekend’s wins, registering 16 against William Jewell and 21 against Rockhurst. Maggie Johnson finished with 16 kills, and Iyannah Jackson had 11 against the Hawks. Setter Caitlin Bishop averaged 48 assists in the two matches. Skylar Weaver combined for 33 digs. UMSL (23-4, 13-0 GLVC) is No. 1 in the latest NCAA Midwest Region rankings and will also be the No. 1 seed in this week’s GLVC Tournament. It opens play against eighth-seeded Lewis on Friday in Williamsville, Illinois.
Men’s Basketball
The Tritons upset No. 13 Michigan Tech 78-57 for their first win of the season on Friday in the JustAGame Crossover, and they followed it up by knocking off Northern Michigan 80-67 on Saturday at Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. UMSL stormed out to a 42-23 lead at halftime against the previously unbeaten Huskies while shooting 55% from the field on Friday, and the offense continued to hum along in the second half to prevent Michigan Tech from getting closer than 15 points. Taye Moore finished with 27 points on 11-for-16 shooting, Jake Hamilton added 18 while going 7 for 8 from the field, and Vincent Davis III finished with 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds. The Tritons put together another strong offensive showing, including a big first half, against Northern Michigan, opening up a 42-28 lead at intermission and shooting 54.5% from the field in Saturday’s win. Moore again led the attack and had 22 points. Makeer Makeer had 20 points off the bench on 7-for-8 shooting, and Hamilton and Jayden Creighton had 12 points each. UMSL held Northern Michigan to 41.4% shooting, including 3 for 23 from 3-point range. The Tritons (2-2) will play their home opener against the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis on Friday at the Mark Twain Athletic Center.
Women’s Basketball
UMSL went 1-1 on the opening weekend of its regular season, rallying for a 54-52 victory against Roosevelt on Friday in Chicago but falling to Wisconsin–Parkside 82-73 on Saturday in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Jayden Kuper led three players in double figures with 12 points in Friday’s win, Jaeda Wilson added 11 off the bench, and Morgan Ramthun finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Tritons trailed by as many as 10 points in the opening half and were down 34-27 at intermission but held Roosevelt to 21% shooting in the second half as they outscored the Lakers 27-18 over the final 20 minutes. They still had to hold their breath at the end as Roosevelt missed two shots that would’ve tied the game in the final 10 seconds. UMSL’s offense ran smoother against Parkside with Mara Rieder scoring a game-high 28 points, Kuper and Ramthun combining for 23 more and the team collectively shooting 48.4% from the field. But it wasn’t enough to keep pace with the Rangers, who shot 11 for 24 from 3-point range and went 13 for 16 from the foul line. UMSL (1-1) will take on Kentucky Wesleyan on Friday in Owensboro, Kentucky.
