Volleyball
The Spires went 3-1 this past week with victories over Tabor College (25-16, 25-16, 25-14), Bethel College (25-21, 25-23, 25-17), and Ottawa University (13-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-15,15-11). Their one loss on the week came to Kansas Wesleyan University on Saturday in the KCAC Championship game (25-19, 21-25, 25-12, 22-25, 12-15). On Tuesday night,
Emma Prothe accounted for six service aces,
Michelle Dvorak had ten kills on the night, while
Haydan Heuermann accounted for 36 assists. The Spires cruised to an early lead and kept up the scoring, beating Tabor for a three-set sweep. Friday, Saint Mary upset two top-seeded teams. The first game of the day was against Bethel, where the Spires took set one and were on the ropes for set two until
Devyn Ford came up big for Saint Mary with back-to-back kills.
Rylee Kenitzer finished it off with a kill of her own to make the final in set two, 25-23. All the momentum was with the Spires for set three as they rolled to a 25-17 finish, completing the three-set sweep. Later on, Friday night, Saint Mary played the number one-seeded Ottawa Braves, where the Spires upset them in five sets. After a rough first set for Saint Mary, the Spires never lost hope as they regrouped to take set two thanks to key kills by Ford and a crucial ace by
Ava Bojanski that helped seal the 25-22 win. Set three featured a service ace from
Laney Ward and two errors from Ottawa that brought Saint Mary within one, down 14-13. Kenitzer had three kills right at the end of the set, but the Spires could not keep up with the Braves and lost set three 25-23. Kenitzer picked up where she left off in set four, scoring the first four out of seven points. Saint Mary then built a comfortable 13-5 lead. Ottawa could not keep up with the Spires in set four and fell quickly by a score of 25-15. The final set featured key kills by
Madison Folsom and Kenitzer as an Ottawa error gave Saint Mary the 15-11 on their way to the championship game. On Saturday against Kansas Wesleyan, the Spires played hard, taking the Coyotes to five sets. Saint Mary took the lead early in the final set, but a late run by the Coyotes ended the Spire's season losing 15-12. The Spires finished the season with an overall record of 22-13, winning their last six straight games to get to the championship.
Recaps
Spires Upset Bethel for Semifinal Game Against Ottawa
Volleyball Upsets Number One Seed Braves On Route to KCAC Championship Game
Spires Lose in Five Sets to Coyotes
Men's Soccer
The men's soccer team went 1-1 on the week as they defeated the Ottawa Braves on Wednesday night, 5-3, to advance them to the KCAC Championship Game on Saturday against Oklahoma Wesleyan, resulting in a 3-0 loss. On Wednesday, Ottawa started the game aggressively, taking multiple shots on the net, but
Come Grieu prevented them from scoring. Almost twenty minutes into the game,
Ramiro Vasquez put the Spires on the board to give Saint Mary the early 1-0 lead. Just four minutes later,
Jan Stachura assisted
Anthony Rangel for another score to put USM up 2-0. Ottawa scored a goal of their own four minutes later to make the score 2-1 in favor of the Spires. With a little under seven minutes to go in the half, Saint Mary again found the back of the net, thanks to an own goal by the Braves, giving Saint Mary the 3-1 lead heading into halftime. About twenty minutes into the second half,
Romario Harding scored for the Spires to give them the 4-1 lead. Ottawa again responded with another goal to cut the Spire lead in half. With five minutes left, Saint Mary again built on their lead as Rangel assisted
Guilherme Caldas for the score to make the score 5-2. A last-minute score by Ottawa made the final 5-3 in favor of the Spires as they advanced to the KCAC Championship game. The game started fast for the Eagles as they scored within the first five minutes of the game. The Spire defense stepped up big for the rest of the half as the Eagles were held scoreless.
Anthony Rangel nearly tied things up right before halftime, but the shot was saved, and OKWU went into halftime with a 1-0 lead. In the second half, the Eagles got two more goals, Saint Mary had multiple attempts on the net, but their shots never found the back of the net as the clock ran out on USM. Saint Mary has qualified for the NAIA Tournament and will play against Central Methodist University on Thursday in round one.
Recaps
Spires Get Revenge Against The Braves and Head to KCAC Championship
Men's Soccer Fasll to OKWU in KCAC Championship Game
Football
The University of Saint Mary Football team hosted the Tabor Blue Jays on Saturday for senior day, which resulted in a 21-16 win. Before the game, nine seniors were honored for the dedication and hard work they had given to the program. With a little under four minutes go, in the first quarter,
Raymond Webster broke through the defense for a 30-yard touchdown to give Saint Mary the 7-0 lead. The second quarter started with a missed USM field goal that led to Tabor responding with a field goal of their own, making the score 7-3. The Spires were unable to score again as Tabor got another field goal right before the half, giving Saint Mary just a one-point lead. The second half started fast for the Spires when
Shane Bishop found
Nick Holmes for a 46-yard touchdown pass to put the Spires up 14-6. Tabor was able to respond with yet another field goal to make the score 14-9. The fourth quarter started with an interception by
Landon Beecham, giving the Spires the ball back in a promising field position. Webster's second touchdown on the day was a two-yard rush that made the score 21-9 in favor of the Spires. Tabor was quick to answer as they scored a touchdown on the following drive making the score 21-16. After Saint Mary was unable to convert on a fourth and one, the Blue Jay offense got set up in Spire territory with a minute left. The final play of the game ended with an interception by
Aidan Arnold that sealed the Spire victory 21-16. The Spires built on their conference record from a year ago as they finished this season 4-7 overall and 4-6 in conference play.
Recaps
Spire Get the Senior Day Win Over Tabor 21-16
Men's Basketball
Saint Mary Men's Basketball went 3-0 in their weekend tournament, beating Park University, College of the Ozarks, and Bacone College all by eight or more points. Against Park,
Mason Belcher hit back-to-back threes to give Saint Mary an early 20-16 lead. Saint Mary hit four more three-point shots after Belcher's, but Park was able to keep up with the scoring as USM held a 32-27 lead with five minutes to go in the half.
Luke Mackey and Belcher combined for three more three-pointers going up 45-41 heading into the locker room. Shortly after the start of the second half, the Spires went on a 6-2 scoring run, building a comfortable 67-49 lead.
Braylen Duncan and
Cam Southern also made their free throws as time winded down to secure a convincing 85-77 win.
Joe Burgos had a season-high 22 points, along with eight rebounds on the night. On Saturday, the Spires took a 17-point lead just six minutes into the game. Saint Mary continued to keep the pressure on the Bobcats throughout the half, extending their lead to 48-30. To start the second half
Deshaud St. Martin scored 12 straight points for the Spires making the score 63-46 with under 13 minutes to go in the game.
Joey Schultz sealed the game with a dunk, while St. Martin had a season-high 24 points, along with ten rebounds on the day. The Spires concluded their weekend of games against Bacone College, winning soundly by a score of 82-63. Saint Mary, down 19-16, finished the first half against the Warriors with a 20-5 run that gave the Spires a ten-point lead heading into halftime. St. Martin got Saint Mary going to start the second half helping the Spires continue their offensive output to build a 17-point lead. Nick Champman ended the game for USM with a three-pointer, making the final score 82-63.
Recap
Men's Basketball Crusies to 85-77 Win Over Park
St. Martin Has Double-Double in Spires 92-70 Win Over Bobcats
Women's Basketball
The Spires went 2-0 this week after soundly beating Graceland University on Wednesday and the Park Pirates on Saturday. Against Graceland, The Spires then went on a run as three-pointers from
Demi Aamold, and
Paige Pendley put Saint Mary up 17-9. The rest of the quarter saw only one more made basket for the Yellowjackets to make it a 17-11 game. After a made layup by
Tanea Sims, Graceland went on a run to cut the lead to 21-19. Back-to-back layups by
Alex Specht sparked a Saint Mary run as Johnson, Aamold, and Sims helped The Spires head into the locker room with a 38-24 lead.
Jerrica Johnson and Specht combined for eight points in the final minute of the quarter for USM. The momentum remained in favor of the Spires heading into the final quarter as strong defense from Saint Mary combined with late points by
Mary Olson, and
Shelby Salter helped ice the game as Saint Mary secured a big road win 76-56. On Saturday, scoring picked up for both teams in the second quarter, but halfway through, Park had an advantage with a 23-20 lead. With just under two minutes to go, Aamold hit two quick threes that gave Saint Mary a 28-23 lead. Pendley hit her free throws before the half to make it 30-26. The Spires continued the high offensive output in the third quarter, going on an 8-2 scoring run and extending their lead by 12 with the score at 50-38. Johnson made three straight layups to put the game away for Saint Mary, eventually winning 76-67.
Recap
Spires Beat Graceland by 20
Women's Basketball Wins Third Straight 76-67
Men's Wrestling
The University of Saint Mary Men's Wrestling team traveled to Grand View University Saturday for the Grand View Open. It was a solid showing for the Spires before the Spire Duals set for this Saturday. Saint Mary won a good number of matches throughout the day resulting in their best performance ever at the Open. Brody Gee and Johnny Cash Thomas had some of the best showings for Saint Mary. Gee took second place in the Fresh/ Soph division of the tournament, going 5-1 on the day but losing in the final round by a decision of 8-7. Cash Thomas went 4-2 for the Spires getting all the way to the quarterfinals after winning by fall two rounds in a row. Other notable performances were Freddie Barajas and Ethan Woods. Barajas got out of the opening rounds but lost in a close decision. Woods lost in the third round in another close match, losing 6-3, but on his way, there had a dominant 13-3 major decision. Saint Mary will host Oklahoma Wesleyan and Northwestern for Saturday's Spire Duals being held at Ryan Sports Center.
Recap
Men's Wrestling Has Best Showing in Program History at Grand View Open