UMSL Rallies Strong to Win in Five

Riverwomen Drop First Two Games, Win Last Three

St. Louis, Mo. – After getting off to a slow start with a number of costly errors, the UMSL volleyball team rebounded after losing the first two games to win the final three games and get a 3-2 victory over Bellarmine. Heather Nichols (Black Earth, Wis./Edgewood) led UMSL with 16 kills on the day and ignited the team in the fifth-game win to secure the match. Devan McFerran (Urbana, Ill.) and Mandi Fenner (St. Peters, Mo./Fort Zumwalt South) each added eight kills and Ashley Richmond (Milford, Ohio/Milford) had 41 assists and 14 digs in the match.

UMSL got down early, giving up the first four points in each of the first two games. In the first game, Bellarmine got the early led and was up 11-8 before going on a 10-2 run to win 30-13. The second game saw the Knights win again by an identical 30-13 score, thanks in large part to 13 errors by UMSL in that game.

The third game sparked a comeback for the Riverwomen. It was a back-and-forth battle the whole game that saw a total of 21 ties as neither team led by more than three points. UMSL got the first advantage with an 11-8 lead, but Bellarmine came right back to score five straight points and take a 13-11 lead. The Riverwomen fought back and kept the game close, but fell down by three points again, trailing 26-23. From there, UMSL reeled off four stright points, getting a kill from Devan McFerran to start the run and took a 27-26 lead. The game was tied again at 29-29 before UMSL scored the final two points to win the third game 31-29 and keep the match alive.

UMSL used a big run early in the fourth game to take control, breaking a 5-5 tie by scoring seven of the next eight points to lead 12-6. Bellarmine would close the gap and cut UMSL’s lead to three points at 17-14 before the Riverwomen went on a 7-0 run, capped off by a kill from Heather Nichols for a 24-14 lead. The Riverwomen never looked back from there and won the fourth game 30-20.

In the deciding game, neither team led by more than two points until the final 15-12 score. UMSL’s Heather Nichols kept the Riverwomen in it with four kills in the fifth game. With UMSL trailing by one point, 11-10, Nichols got a kill to tie the game for the ninth and final time at 11-11, and Nichols provided another kill on the next point for a 12-11 lead. Claudia Medina (Las Cruces, N.M./Las Cruces) then got a kill for a 13-11 UMSL lead. Bellarmine cut the lead back down to one point when Medina recorded another kill for a 14-12 lead and UMSL finished it off on the next point for the 15-12 win.

UMSL improves to 8-13 on the season and is now 4-8 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Riverwomen will be on the road next Tuesday to play at Harris Stowe before a road trip next weekend at Wisconsin-Parkside and at Lewis.