EAST PEORIA, Ill.—University of Southern Indiana Volleyball saw its quest for a second straight Great Lakes Valley Conference title come to an end Saturday evening as it suffered a 25-11, 25-17, 25-15 setback to the No. 2-seeded University of Missouri-St. Louis Tritons in the semifinals of the GLVC Championship Tournament at the EastSide Centre.
After winning a five-set thriller over the No. 3 seed, Rockhurst University, in the quarterfinals Friday night, the No. 6-seeded Screaming Eagles ran into a wall in the Tritons, who hit .358 for the match.
Missouri-St. Louis (24-7) hit .312 in the opening set while holding the Eagles to just five kills and a negative .029 attacking percentage in the opener. The Tritons scored 12 of the first 15 points as they ran away with the 14-point win in the opener.
USI (18-13) kept up with Missouri-St. Louis early in the second frame, but a 12-3 Tritons’ run helped Missouri-St. Louis secure the eight-point win and two-set lead.
The Tritons, who hit .350 with 18 kills in the second set, erupted for 16 kills and a .405 attacking clip in the third set to secure the victory.
Senior middle blocker Sidney Hegg (Menasha, Wisconsin) had six kills, a .600 attacking percentage and five blocks to lead the Eagles, who most likely had their season come to an end Saturday. Freshman outside hitter Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) had a team-best seven kills, while senior libero Callie Gubera (Thorntown, Indiana) finished with a team-leading 15 digs.
GLVC Player of the Year Charlotte Richards led the Tritons with 17 kills and a .390 attacking percentage. Missouri-St. Louis advances to the GLVC Championship match to face the top-seeded Lewis University Flyers, who swept No. 5-seeded Quincy University in the semifinals earlier in the day.
USI will have to wait to see if it has done enough to qualify as for the NCAA II Tournament as an at-large team. The NCAA selection show is Monday at 6:30 p.m. (CST) on ncaa.com.
