UMSL Serves Up Win Over Saint Joseph's

Riverwomen Record 11 Service Aces in Victory

St. Louis, Mo. – The Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team used 11 service aces to help pace the way past Saint Joseph’s 3-0 (30-27, 30-28, 30-24) on Saturday. Claudia Medina (Las Cruces, N.M./Las Cruces) led UMSL with four service aces and Daria Sak (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) added three aces as five different players recorded at least one ace in the match.

Heather Nichols (Black Earth, Wis./Edgewood) led the Riverwomen with 15 kills on the day, and Claudia Medina added 13 kills. Daria Sak had nine kills to go with her three service aces, and had eight digs on the day. Her eight digs give Sak 1,234 career digs, leaving her one shy of the school record. Ashley Richmond (Milford, Ohio/Milford) had 40 assists on the day to go along with her four kills.

In the first game, UMSL got a quick lead to gain control. With the score tied 5-5, the Riverwomen ran off eight straight points, including two service aces by Claudia Medina, to lead 13-5. Saint Joseph’s would eventually come back and tie the game at 23-23 before UMSL reeled off three straight points to regain control and win the opening game 30-27. The second game had a similar result, as UMSL trailed 7-5 when the Riverwomen came back to score seven straight points, including two service aces from Daria Sak, to take a 12-7 lead. UMSL would lead by as many as seven points at 17-10, but a late rally by the Pumas would tie it up at 23-23. With the game tied 27-27, UMSL would get three of the next four points, ending the game on a kill by Sak to win 30-28. The third game followed the same pattern as the first two games, as UMSL broke a 17-17 tie by using a 6-1 run and led by five points, 23-18. Ashley Crow (Fair Grove, Mo./Fair Grove) had two service aces to help spark that run for the Riverwomen. Saint Joseph’s closed the gap to just one point and trailed UMSL 24-23, but UMSL got three straight kills, two from Sak and one from Medina, to lead 27-23. After a point by Saint Joseph’s, UMSL then got three straight points, including yet another service ace from Medina, to win the final game 30-24.

UMSL improves to 6-9 on the season and is now 2-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Riverwomen will be at home again next weekend when they host Northern Kentucky on Friday, October 8, and then host Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday, October 9, at 1 pm.