SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – There was a big group hug on the court after the College of Saint Mary volleyball team pulled out a narrow win over Friends University Friday night. CSM battled to the very last point and defeated the Falcons 3-2 by scores of 22-25, 25-18, 25-27, 25-21 and 16-14 in the opening day of the Evangel University Quadrangular.
“After another slow start and dealing with 100-degree temps in the gym, we managed to find a way to get it done,” CSM Coach Rick Pruett said. “Ultimately that is the goal.”
Grace Werner led the Flames with 19 kills. Teammate Azaria Green tallied 18 kills, Liz Henrichson belted 17 and Madisyn Havermann finished with 11. Setters Miranda Ring and Kaitlyn Busby pushed up 33 and 29 assists, respectively. Defensively Elen Pruett had a whopping 30 digs, Krissy Radicia finished with 23 and Caitlin McCormack chipped in with 10.
“We had four hitters in double-digit kills,” Pruett said. “Those numbers are great. Unfortunately, we kept Friends in the match with 34 hitting errors and made it tough on ourselves. Our serve receive and defense behind the blocks was good, but we only had five total blocks which is something we have to get better at.
“We found a way to battle and hit .371 in the fourth set and .348 in the fifth set which is great. I’m proud of how we battled and got the win in tough conditions.”
The Flames are now 8-4 on the season and stay in Springfield, Mo., to play in the second day of the quad on Saturday. CSM will take on the host Evangel at 11:30 a.m. before squaring off with William Woods University at 2 p.m.
