The Maryville volleyball Saints challenged Drury but the Panthers kept the home squad at bay in a 27-25, 25-14, 25-20 triumph in Moloney Arena Saturday afternoon.
 
Set one featured 15 ties and nine lead changes as the opener went back and forth. The Saints trailed 24-23 before Cassidy Arndt drilled a kill to tie the score. A Drury hitting error gave the Saints set point but the Panthers used back-to-back kills and a solo block to win the first set. The Saints had their best hitting percentage of the match and outhit the Panthers .234 to .222.
 
The Panthers scored the first two points of set two before Ashley Selman cranked down a kill. Drury scored five in a row until Katie Verseman put down a kill, and DU committed a hitting error. The Saints cut the gap to 8-5 on Allison Lakin's kill but the Panthers tallied four straight points. A Lakin kill and DU error pulled Maryville to 14-8 but the Panthers scored three straight and held on for the win. Drury hit a match-best .324 in the middle set.
 
Maryville started set three with a kill by Kara Wright, and two straight Drury hitting errors handed the Saints a 3-0 lead. Selman finished a pass from Kayla Buxton but the Panthers went on a 4-0 run. The Saints tied the set when Wright sandwiched kills around an ace by Michelle Escue for a 9-9 deadlock. Drury retook the lead on three straight kills before Lakin terminated a point for 13-11. The Saints made a charge and trimmed the deficit to just 16-15 after a Selman kill. The Panthers used three consecutive kills until a Verseman kill and DU error brought the Saints to 20-19. However, Drury posted two kills and a block to build a cushion and held on for the win.
 
Lakin notched a double-double with team highs of 10 kills and 13 digs. Selman chipped in six kills. Buxton had 16 assists, and Wright added eight kills and three blocks. Brooke Antenen led the Panthers (10-5, 4-2 Great Lakes Valley Conference) with 12 kills, 20 assists and eight digs.
 
The Saints stand at 2-13 overall, 1-5 in the GLVC. Maryville is next in action Tuesday, Oct. 4, when crosstown-rival University of Missouri-St. Louis invades Moloney Arena.