York, Neb.- The University of Saint Mary Volleyball team took on the York Panthers on Saturday, resulting in a 3-2 victory (25-12) (25-17) (23-25) (19-25) (15-6). The Spires are now 13-4 and 2-0 in the KCAC.

After the first set began with three straight points by York, Courtney Standley got the Spires on the board with a kill, and a service ace by Gabby Kurle followed to make the score 3-2. Later, three straight York errors swung the momentum in favor of the Saint Mary. From there, Keagan Shockley recorded three kills as Ainsley Gardner added two to help Saint Mary cruise to a 25-12 win in set one. Saint Mary picked up right where they left off in set two as the Spires capitalized on multiple York errors. Gardner, Macey Adams, and Camryn Wessel all helped contribute to an eight-point run that helped the Spires take a 15-4 lead. Following a timeout, Shockley and Devyn Ford went back-to-back with kills to add to the Spire lead. A late run by York was insufficient to overcome the deficit as the Spires took set two, 25-17.

York jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the third set to put Saint Mary down early. Kills by Madison Folsom and Devyn Ford brought the Spires back within reach, but they eventually lost the back-and-forth battle and fell in set three, 25-23. Ford got things going with an early kill in set four, but another 5-point run by York put them in front. Renata Dominguez later knotted the game at eight a piece with her kill, but another scoring run by the Panthers gave them momentum to close the set out with the 25-19 win. 

Shockley and Gardner helped Saint Mary take an early 4-1 lead to start the fifth set, but the Panthers took advantage of errors by the Spires to climb back. With York on the offensive, Folsom and Standley came up with crucial kills to propel the Spires to a 15-6 victory in set five. Shockley led with 18 kills on the day, while Standley recorded 37 assists.

Up Next

The Spires will host Friends University at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the Ryan Sports Center.