SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – University of Missouri-St. Louis rode a strong start that included a 13-4 first-set scoring run to a straight-set victory (13-25, 16-25, 15-25) over Drury volleyball Friday evening in the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener for both clubs at O'Reilly Family Event Center. 

The Tritons (8-4, 1-0 GLVC) led just 7-5 in the opening stanza before one of Hannah Copeland's six kills kicked off the critical scoring surge that would ultimately carry the visitors to an 11-point cushion. UMSL hit .314 in the first set and a red-hot .560 in the second to build a 2-0 advantage over the Panthers.

DU led early in the third, before a 10-3 UMSL scoring run gave the visitors the upper hand. Alayna Santel, who finished with a match-high 14 kills, recorded four of those in the third set, hitting .667 for the Tritons in the 25-15 win.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Drury (7-5, 0-1 GLVC) was limited to -.065 hitting in the first set before heating up in the second behind four-kill efforts by both Ella Rademaker and Chaney Barth. 
• UMSL jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the second set, then stretched its margin to as many as six points before the Panthers used a 7-3 spurt to close to within 16-14.
• The Tritons put the set away, however, behind four Bridget Cassidy kills to outscore the Panthers by a 9-2 margin down the stretch.
• The final set saw the Tritons cool to a .195 team hitting percentage, but took control behind the play of Santel, who hit .619 for the night, adding six digs and two of UMSL's eight service aces.

NOTABLES

• Drury sustained its first home loss of the season, falling to 4-1 at O'Reilly Family Event Center.
• Barth led Drury with seven kills, while chipping in three digs, a block and an assist.
• Jacy Bray tallied 13 assists to pace the Panther attack, while Kim Quinit recorded 10 digs and three assists.
• Lauren Tyler added to her career assist total with five helpers, raising her three-year DU total to 2,033, which ranks 10th in Panthers history.
• Rademaker finished with six kills and a pair of blocks, while Phoebe Riddle totaled three kills and four blocks.

UP NEXT
Drury wraps up the opening weekend of GLVC play Saturday (Sept. 27) with a 3 p.m. matchup against McKendree at O'Reilly.

For all the latest information on Drury athletics, please visit drurypanthers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Panthers on X and Instagram.

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