Liberty, Mo. - Returning to Great Lakes Valley Conference action, the Maryville volleyball team headed to Liberty, Mo., but host William Jewel dealt the Saints a narrow 25-23, 27-25, 25-20 defeat. The Saints are back in action Saturday at West Division leader Rockhurst.

Allison Lakin and Kara Wright had early kills as the Saints jumped to a 3-0 edge. The Cardinals came back with five points in a row to grab their first lead. Maryville was down 12-9 before a kill by Lakin capped a 4-0 run to push the Saints ahead 13-12. The set was tied at 14-all before the Cardinals edge back ahead. The Saints got to 24-23 but WJC held on for the win.

The Cardinals grabbed the early lead in set two and were still leading 19-12 before the Saints charged back. Wright had a kill to start a 5-0 run and close to 19-17. Trailing 22-18, the Saints pulled to within one after a WJC error and back-to-back kills by Ashley Selman. The Saints saved two set points, and tied the set at 25-25 on a Wright kill. The Cardinals scored two straight points to take a 2-0 edge in sets.

The Saints had to play catchup in set three as the Cardinals scored eight of the first nine points. Lakin had a kill, Makayla Campbell served an ace, and a WJC error pulled the Saints to 9-5. Maryville slowly trimmed into the deficit and pulled to within two points at 11-9. The Cardinals did not give up the lead and the Saints again pulled to 22-20. However, that would be the final points for the Saints (3-20 overall, 1-9 GLVC) as William Jewell held on to improve to 11-12 overall, 4-7 in the GLVC.

Lakin and Emma Basler led the Saints with nine kills apiece. Kayla Buxton notched 19 assists, and Michelle Escue accounted for 18 assists. Maggie Murphy tied a Saints season high with 27 digs.