EAST PEORIA, ILL. – For the first time in program history, the University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team is headed to the GLVC Tournament championship.
 
The No. 22 ranked and third-seeded Tritons knocked off No. 13 ranked and second-seeded Lewis, 3-1, on Saturday in the first of two quarterfinal round games, winning by set scores of 21-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-15.
 
UMSL will face the winner of No. 1 seed Rockhurst and No. 4 seed Indianapolis in tomorrow's title match at Noon.
 
RECORDS
No. 3 seed/No. 22 ranked UMSL (29-3), No. 2 seed/No. 13 ranked Lewis (27-5)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UMSL, which was limited to .117 hitting in a 3-1 loss at Lewis during the regular season, hit at a .205 clip, while holding the Flyers to .123 hitting despite being outblocked, 13-8.
- Lewis took the opening set behind a 5-0 blocking advantage although senior opposite side hitter Kylie Rudsinski had seven kills in seven swings.
- In the second set, UMSL used a 7-1 run to take a 15-7 lead before building it to a 19-9 advantage. The Tritons limited the Flyers to .086 hitting behind four blocks after not recording one in the first set.
- UMSL hit .250 in the third set with 17 kills and began pulling away from Lewis in the fourth set thanks to a 7-1 run that made it 22-13. The Flyers had 12 attack errors in the final set, hitting -0.047.
 
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING                                                
- Rudsinski recorded a season-high 19 kills without an error, hitting .559.
- Senior Selena Nolte and sophomore Charlotte Richards added 12 kills each. Richards also notched the double-double with 17 digs.
- Sophomore Megan Woll finished with 25 digs, while freshman Raquel Kessler recorded five blocks.
- Junior Kaileen Herman dished out 39 assists before leaving the match in the fourth set with an injury.