NCAA Midwest Regional roundup: Tritons roll past Hawks, while Bulldogs, Chargers advance

QUINCY — It shouldn’t be this easy in the NCAA Tournament.

The Missouri-St. Louis women’s volleyball team, the No. 5 seed, hit at a .400 clip and had little trouble dispatching Rockhurst 25-15, 25-18, 25-18 in the first round of the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional at Pepsi Arena on the campus of Quincy University.

Rockhurst led 2-1 in the first set and 5-4 in the second set, and it never led in the third set as Missouri-St. Louis dominated from the outset.

Charlotte Richards had 13 kills in 36 attempts for the Tritons, and Lexie Rang had 13 kills in 24 attempts for a .542 clip. Hailey Flowers hit at a .562 clip with 10 kills in 16 chances. The Tritons had just eight hitting errors (and 48 kills) in 100 attempts.

Missouri-St. Louis led the first set 8-7, then reeled off eight consecutive points to take command. Richards and Rang each had two kills and Kylie Adams had two service aces in the run. Rockhurst never got closer than seven points thereafter.

Trailing 5-4 in the second set, the Tritons scored five of the next six points and never relinquished the lead. Rockhurst tied the score at 10 and trailed at one point 16-15, but two service aces and a kill by Rang fueled a 5-1 run that put UMSL comfortably ahead. A setting error, a kill by Flowers and a service ace by Richards closed out the set.

UMSL led 7-6 in the third set when a kill by Rang was followed three kills from Richards. Rockhurst got back to within 13-11, but the Tritons then scored six straight points — two aces from Richards, one kill each from Flowers and Rang, and two hitting errors. Rockhurst never got within five points thereafter.

Kenzie Hines led Rockhurst (20-8), the fourth seed, with nine kills. Tera Reberry had eight, and Sarah Pyle had seven.

Chargers refuse to bow out early

QUINCY — Old champions die hard.

Hillsdale, the defending NCAA Division II Midwest Regional women’s volleyball champion, faced four match points in the fifth set but survived all of them to defeat Lewis 25-16, 18-25, 25-22, 20-25, 20-18 in the first round of this year’s regional tournament at Pepsi Arena.

The score in the fifth set was tied 14 times. Lewis led 9-6 after a four-point run, but Hillsdale scored four of the next five points to tie the set at 10. Lewis took a 13-11 lead after a kill by Juliana Van Loo and a setting error, but Hillsdale tied the match on kills by Megan Kolp and Marilyn Popplewell.

The Flyers served for the match at 14-13, 15-14, 16-15 and 17-16, but the Chargers responded with a kill from Popplewell and three kills from Karoline Shelton to tie the match each time.

A kill from Popplewell gave Hillsdale its first lead in the fifth set since the score was 4-3, but Lewis responded with a kill from Van Loo to tie the score at 18. The Chargers finally put the match away with a kill from Popplewell, her fifth of the set, and a hitting error from Van Loo.

Popplewell finished with 28 kills in 69 attempts for Hillsdale (28-6), the seventh seed. Shelton had 16 kills, and Kolp had 13.

Van Loo and Megan Schlechte had 19 kills each for Lewis (22-9), the second seed. Bella Ray had 17 kills and four blocks for the Flyers.

Hillsdale scored the first five points of the first set and was never challenged. A five-point run, fueled by four kills from Popplewell, put the Chargers comfortably ahead 15-8. Lewis never got closer than five points thereafter.

The Chargers led early in the second set, but the Flyers relied on seven kills in the set from Van Loo to take charge. Hillsdale used an early six-point run in the third set, with three kills from Popplewell, to take a 10-7 lead, but Lewis rallied to tie the match at 10, 13 and 15. The Flyers led briefly but the match was tied again at 19 when Hillsdale scored five of the next six points. The Chargers closed the third set on a kill by Sydney Sahr.

The fourth set was tied at 10 when Lewis started to take command, scoring six of the next eight points. Hillsdale closed within 17-15, but the Flyers scored the next four points and closed the set with a kill from Ray and a setting error.

Bulldogs battle back each, every time

QUINCY — Ferris State trailed in every set but won three out of four sets, defeating Ashland 27-25, 21-25, 25-17, 25-19 in the first round of the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional at Pepsi Arena.

Olivia Henneman-Dallape recorded 19 kills for the Bulldogs (25-9), the tournament’s No. 3 seed. Claire Nowicki and Syann Fairfield had 12 kills each for Ferris State. Fairfield and Chelsie Freeman had three kills each for the Bulldogs.

Ashland (23-9), the tournament’s No. 6 seed, led 15-13 in the fourth set after a hitting error by Nowicki. Henneman-Dallape then kicked off a decisive seven-point run for the Bulldogs with a kill. She added another kill in the run, along with Freeman. Nowicki had a service ace and served up six consecutive points for the Bulldogs, and Ashland also had two hitting errors.

The Eagles never got any closer than three points in the final set.

Ashland was one point away from winning the first set, with Erin Krupar serving with a 24-22 lead. However, a kill by Nowicki and a service ace by Emma Bleecher tied the score. The score was tied again at 25, but Ferris State closed out the set on a kill by Henneman-Dallape and an ace from Nowicki.

Ashland took the lead at 4-3 in the second set and never relinquished it. The Bulldogs got within 17-16 but never tied the score again. GraceAnn Hartman had five kills in the set, and Krupar had three.

Neither team led by more than three points in the third set, and Ferris State trailed 17-16 after a kill by Anna Krikke for the Eagles. The Bulldogs then closed out the set by scoring the next nine points. Henneman-Dallape and Fairfield each had three kills in the run, with Leah Bylut doing all of the serving.

Krupar had 13 kills for the Eagles and Makenna Belcher had 12.