A sea of fans dressed in all-black filled Pepsi Arena to watch the Quincy University Hawks take down the Tritons of the University of Missouri-St. Louis in a ranked battle on November 8. The Hawks won 3-1, and the victory takes them to 22-3 overall and 9-1 in conference play. The loss brings UMSL to a 17-6 record overall and 6-4 in conference play.

The Hawks came into this matchup ranked No. 20 in Division II and the Tritons were No. 18. The Tritons have had the Hawk’s number for several years, defeating them eight of the last nine times before this match. 

The game was a tug-of-war in every set but the last one. The Hawks would take commanding leads early in the first two sets, but the Tritons would storm back and make it competitive. QU won the first two sets by five or fewer points.

The third set was one-sided as UMSL dominated the Hawks 25-16. The Hawks went into the locker room and came out with a vengeance, closing out the Tritons 25-15. 

The Hawks saw great performances from Emma Wijnbergen, Elena Kasavica, and Janelle Pye-Blacknard. Wijnbergen recorded 18 Kills. Kasavica posted 50 Assists, 1 Block, and 2 Aces. Pye-Blacknard was all over the floor with 14 Digs. 

The Tritons also had some standout players in the match with the likes of Hannah Copeland and Caitlin Bishop. Bishop recorded 43 Assists, 11 Digs, and 1 Block. Copeland finished with 13 Kills and 4 Blocks. 

Notable plays came in bunches during the contest as the opportunistic Hawks capitalized where UMSL did not. Wijnbergen ended the first set with back-to-back kills to win by two, and an ace by Pye-Blacknard ended the second set. These two plays propelled the Hawks to a 2-0 set lead and forced the Tritons into desperation mode.

“Having the ability to come up big for my teammates in such a huge game is just a great thing and something I take pride in,” Pye-Blacknard said. 

The moment the tide turned came in the final set as the Hawks went on a run. Three kills in a row by Luna Van Baars, a Wijnbergen ace, and an error by the Tritons pushed the lead to as much as 11. From there the Hawks were in cruise control and a kill by Susanna Beritti ended the game.

“That is a really good team on the other side, so being able to execute was important and we did that today,” coach Erica Slinde said. 

As the game concluded, the stadium erupted and emotion came over the Hawks. Although QU was ranked lower, none of the players or fans felt as if the game was an upset. The fans have supreme confidence in their team and plan to help fuel them on their road to a championship. 

“If the team is clicking like that every game, I don’t see anyone beating us,” sophomore Thomas Murray Jr. said.

UMSL looks to get back on track as QU looks to put the finishing touches on a fantastic season.