SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – After a blasting Missouri-St. Louis 25-14 in the opening set, Drury fell behind in the next three sets and couldn't catch the Tritons in a 3-1 loss on Saturday at the O'Reilly Family Event Center in Springfield.
 
Saturday's game marked the end of the regular season and sends Drury to the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament with a 20-11 overall record and an 11-7 mark in the conference. The Tritons went to 18-11 and 12-6 in the league.
 
After the Panthers cruised in the opening frame, UMSL won the second set 25-22 and the third 25-20. They owned a 21-16 lead in the fourth set before the Panthers rallied to take a 23-22 advantage. The Tritons battled back to close out the game winning the set 26-24.
 
"Emotionally today, we were really high or really low," said Drury head coach Jenifer Bahner. "In the second set, those first couple of points didn't go our way. Then one or two mistakes turned in to five or six. We got behind and when we decided we were going to fight through this, it was too late."
 
Tori Foster and Brooke Antenen had 12 kills each. Antenen, one of two Drury seniors playing in her last game at home, also had 26 assists and two blocks. McKenna Poynter, the other senior for Drury, had 23 digs.
 
The Panthers open play in the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament on Friday in East Peoria, Illinois. The bracket and schedule will be announced by the league early next week.
 
 
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