Eutectics Finish Regular Season Seeded Eighth in AMC

COLUMBIA, MO. – The Eutectic women's volleyball team played its final two matches of the regular season in Columbia on Saturday, falling to Central Baptist College (Ark.)(8-10) in three sets and to  Stephens College (Mo.) in four sets for the neutral matches on Columbia College's home court. With the two American Midwest Conference (AMC) losses, the UHSP team finished 6-12 in the Conference (7-27 overall), giving them the eighth seed going into the AMC Championship Tournament starting this Friday, Nov. 14 in Chesterfield, Mo. 

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:

CENTRAL BAPTIST def. UHSP; 25-20, 25-15, 25-15

• Central Baptist opened the match scoring the first five points and ten of the first 13. A couple CBC errors along with kills from Sierra Aplanalp and Lilly Hollis got UHSP to within two at 12-10. It was still a two-point set at 16-14 after a Sophia Michaud kill. The two clubs split the next 12 points to make it 22-20 when CBC got three straight kills from Aubree Ruggles to seal the set.
• The second set started much the same way as the first as Central Baptist grabbed a 10-4 advantage. After an Aplanalp kill and a CBC error, the Mustangs scored five in a row to go up 15-6. CBC kept the pressure on with another 4-0 run to make it 22-21 and took the set 25-15.
• The third began again with UHSP trailing early. An Aplanalp kill made it 5-4 CBC, but the Mustangs went on a 9-3 run to make it 14-7. The clubs split the ensuing 14 points and the Mustangs still led 22-15. CBC finished out a three-set sweep by scoring the last three straight points.
• The Eutectics had a trio of kill leaders as Tera Schumacher, Sophia Michaud and Sierra Aplanalp all had seven each.
• Jenna Brinson dished out 26 assists for UHSP along with 16 digs. MaKenzie Uribe had 14 digs and Joleigh Parker added a dozen.
• Aubree Ruggles was the offensive leader for the Mustangs with ten kills and a hitting percentage of 38.1% Avary Smith added ten kills.
• CBC swung at 28% for the match while UHSP connected at a 13.3% clip.
• The loss follows a 3-1 UHSP victory over the Mustangs at their home court in Arkansas on Oct. 31. 

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:

STEPHENS def. UHSP; 25-15,  25-21, 22-25, 25-18

• After a rough first set, the Eutectics regained their footing in Set 2 during a five-point serving run by Brinson to take a 12-11 lead. From that point on, the two teams battled back and forth for the lead. Down 19-18, the Stephens Stars got a boost from Lena Hunziker, who accounted for four of the Stars' final eight points to win the tight set. 
• The Eutectics stormed out of the gate in Set 3, taking a 10-4 lead as their offense pounded down kill after kill set up by Brinson. The Purple and Gold maintained that strong lead until set point at 24-17, when the Stars strung together three kills and two service aces before Brinson set up Schumacher to win the set. 
• UHSP continued to hold the momentum into the fourth set, going up 11-4 before the Stars put on a six-point run to close the gap to 11-10. Down 15-13, the Stars took advantage of two Eutectic errors and two aces to take the lead 17-16, then allow only two more points from the Eutectics before closing out the match. 
• Brinson finished the four-set match with 37 assists, setting up Schumacher, Michaud, and Kynaston to all reach double figures in kills. Brinson also recorded two block assists and 13 digs, just behind libero Uribe's 14. Sumanpreet Kaur pitched in three solo blocks and six block assists as the Eutectics tallied 12 blocks on the night. Hannah Duggan collected three service aces. 
• It was the second loss for UHSP to Stephens this season, having lost in straight sets to the Stars in St. Louis back on Oct. 1.  

UP NEXT:

UHSP will now head to the AMC Postseason Tournament as the 8-seed and face 1-Columbia on Friday at 10:00 a.m. The tournament will be held at the Bradley Beal Center in Chesterfield, Mo.