UHSP drops a pair to open Eutectics Classic

(Photo courtesy of Michael Morales)

ST. LOUIS, MO – A busy day of volleyball kick off on Friday morning at the UHSP Gymnasium with Day one of the Eutectics Classic. The tournament featured ten teams including the host Eutectics. It was a tough opening day for the home club as the opened the day with a 25-17, 25-11, 25-19 loss to Friends University followed by a tough five-set defeat to Culver-Stockton, 23-25, 25-20, 25-22, 22-25, 15-12.

To start the day, Friends came out strong with 14 kills in the opening set, hitting .229. UHSP battled early, matching points behind their 9 kills, but a series of attack errors and a .125 hitting percentage in the opening set allowed Friends to pull away. After the two clubs traded points through the first 14 points, the Falcons claimed six of the next eight to take a 13-9 lead. It was 22-12 the next time the Eutectics were able to record back-to-back points, but it was too little, too late.

Friends completely took over the second set, posting an impressive .500 hitting percentage. They had 12 kills on just 20 attempts with only two errors, showcasing a near-flawless offensive effort. UHSP, on the other hand, faltered, managing just eight kills but committing six errors, hitting only .080. The Eutectics could not find rhythm, and Friends' defense held them to minimal scoring runs. It was 6-4 early when the Falcons went on a 14-5 run to take over the second set, winning it 25-11.

The third was tied 10-10 after a Hannah Duggan ace as UHSP mounted a more competitive effort in the third set, pushing back with nine kills. Four points later, Olivia Abshire's ace knotted things at a dozen each as a Sierra Aplanalp and a pair of Friends errors put UHSP ahead 15-14. But eight of the ensuing nine points went the Falcons way as UHSP had five errors in the set and hit at .174. Friends again tallied 14 kills, attacking at a .391 clip, which proved too much for the Eutectics.

Tera Schumacher led the offense for the Purple and Gold with eight kills while Friends' Gabriella Lujan and Samantha Johnson led all attackers with ten kills each. UHSP's Jenna Brinson had 21 assists in the match while eight digs from Macy Hendrix paced the Eutectics' defense.

In the second match of the day for UHSP, the Eutectics staved off a two-sets-to-one deficit against the CSC Wildcats and forced a decisive fifth set after claiming the fourth set 25-22. But the visitors took the match with a 15-12 win in the fifth.

The opening set saw the Cats grab a 5-3 lead when UHSP scored five straight to lead 8-5. Still in front 16-11 the Eutectics registered three straight kills from Sophia Michaud, Sumanpreet Kaur and Tera Schumacher to take an eight-point lead. Mini-runs of three and later four points swings made things tight and Zoe Irvin put one to the floor for Culver-Stockton to close within one at 23-22. But a service error and a kill from Kaur sealed the set for the Purple and Gold at 25-23.

A seven point runs early in the second put Culver-Stockton in front. At 19-16, an attack error by the Wildcats brought the Eutectics to within two, but it would be the closest they would get. CSC won the second set 25-20 with a powerful offensive showing, hitting .176 with 12 kills. UHSP had 11 kills, but ten errors in the set.

UHSP sprinted to a 6-0 lead to start the third, thanks in part to three early aces from Schumacher. But Culver-Stockton continued to surge in the third set as the Wildcats hit their stride with a .303 hitting percentage in the third frame, tallying 16 kills on just six errors, which helped them turn the tide after the early deficit. UHSP led 21-18 when CSC scored five straight and seven of the sets final eight points to steal a 25-22 win. The Wildcats did not lead in the set until 22-21.

UHSP looked to be in trouble early in the fourth, falling behind 6-2. But kills from Hannah Kynaston, Michaud and Kaur got them right back in it. Schumacher put away two in a four-point swing that forged ties at nine and ten-all. There were ties at 12, 13, 14, 15 but Culver-Stockton scored four straight to take a 19-15 lead and again put UHSP in a tough spot. Schumacher again was in the middle of a run making a pair of kills in a stretch that saw the Eutectics win five of six to level the score at 20-20. The Wildcats grabbed the next two to lead 22-20, but Michaud notched two kills and Macy Hendrix had an ace as UHSP scored five consecutive to pull out a 25-22 set win.

Culver-Stockton jumped out to an early lead in the fifth set winning the opening four points. Another five-point run in the middle of the shortened set gave CSC an 11-4 lead and UHSP could not string enough points together offensively to complete the comeback. The Eutectics did hit .278 in the fifth as they piled up seven kills to just two errors, but they never led in the set after the early deficit.

Statistically, the Wildcats' offense was the key, racking up 69 kills over the course of the match, including 13 in the decisive fifth set where they hit a match-best .346. UHSP's Tera Schumacher led all attackers with 18 kills while Sophia Michaud added a baker's dozen. Addie Force had 16 to lead the way for Culver-Stockton's offense. Jenna Brinson went for 42 assists in the match while Macy Hendrix piled up 31 digs. Both numbers were single-season highs for each. Brinson now has 240 assists on the season and sits 25 away from pulling even with Michelle Turner (2002-2005) for third all-time in career assists for UHSP at 1722.

Day two of the tournament begins Saturday morning with matches at 8:30a. UHSP has the floor for two more on the second day at they face York (NE) at 10:30a and then finish out the tournament with St. Francis (IL) at 4:30p. UHSP returns to regular season play on Tuesday when they play at Westminster followed by a road doubleheader next weekend at Avila when they also play Haskell Indian Nations. Their next home match is their American Midwest Conference opener against Central Baptist on Friday, Sept. 27.