Springfield, Mo. -Â The Maryville volleyball team played its penultimate match of the season and fell short at Drury in three sets in Springfield, Mo. The Panthers downed the Saints 25-21, 25-14, 25-15. Maryville closes out the season Saturday afternoon with a contest at Missouri S&T.
The Saints trailed 8-4 but stormed into the lead with a 6-1 burst. Emma Basler and Ashley Selman had consecutive kills, and an Allison Lakin kill and a block by Selman and Zoe Zeiter tied the score at 8-8. After Drury scored, Lakin notched another kill and a DU hitting error gave the Saints a 10-9 edge. The set stayed close and was tied at 18-all before the Saints scored two straight on DU miscues for a 20-18 advantage. The teams traded points and a Lakin kill gave the Saints a 21-19 lead. However, the Panthers scored the final four points to take the set.
The Panthers roared out to an early lead in set two by scoring the first eight points. Kara Wright had a kill to get the Saints on the scoreboard but Maryville trailed the entire set. Three straight kills and a block by Lakin and Wright would be the best stretch for the Saints but never got closer than nine points. In the final set, the Saints scored the first two points on a Lakin kill and a block by Basler and Wright. Drury answered with six consecutive points and took the lead. Maryville made a charge and used a 4-1 run to trim the gap to 14-9.The Saints (4-26, 2-15 GLVC) were still only down 16-11 but the Panthers (20-11, 11-6 GLVC) used a 5-0 run to salt away the match.
Basler, Selman and Lakin all finished with seven kills to lead the attack. Kayla Buxton recorded 15 assists, while Makayla Campbell was credited with 14 digs.
