MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – St. Thomas University's (STU) Volleyball team took a tough loss against no. 1 Missouri Baptist University (18-25, 25-27, 16-25) in day three of the STU Invitational hosted at the Fernandez Family Center Gym.
 
Match Starters
Tyran Chenault
Sana Dennis
Arianna Bolinger
Kyleigh Beecham
Mya Thomas
Loreto Nunez-Casal
Bianca Grassi – libero
 
Match Notes

• Missouri Baptist won the 2020 NAIA National Championship and is currently ranked no. 1 in the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Set two was the highlight of the match, as the Bobcats kept fighting and forced a win by deuce situation.
• The match was tied 18 different times in the second set.
• Bolinger was the leader in stats with nine-kills and eight-digs.
• Nunez-Casal and Chenualt both had eight-kills apiece.
• Beecham led the way with 21-assists.

 
Coaches' Quote on the Tournament – Whitney Battoe
General – "We are extremely grateful to have these teams come down and compete, it was a fun tournament filled with competitive matches."
 
Olivet Nazarene Game – "The team maintained composure and learned how to find the fire and finish a game. To be down two sets and comeback was a big confidence booster for us. We learned how to face adversity early, which will help us down the road in conference play."
 
Midland Game – "To sneak a set from the no. 3 team in country was great. It showed that when we play good clean Bobcat volleyball, we can compete with anyone in the country. We just need to maintain the same energy and focus through a whole match."
 
Missouri Baptist Game – "Missouri Baptist is a very skilled team and it showed why they are a top competitor in the NAIA year after year. In the second set we started to find opportunities in their defense to take advantage of. It was another moment to really understand that we can compete with the top teams when we play our game"
 
Up Next
The Bobcats will travel to Michigan, September 10-11 to take on (RV) Aquinas College, no. 21 Indiana University Kokomo, Indiana University at South Bend, and (RV) Cornerstone before heading into conference play on September 15.