By Paige Siewert
The Spire’s had a jam-packed week of home and away competitions from August 31st to September 6th. Soccer and football hosted games while cross country and volleyball went away to represent the blue and gold colors in the best way that they could. Here is a rundown of each fall sport’s victories and setbacks.
Cross Country
Last Friday in Maryville, MO, the men’s cross country team competed in the Bearcat Open and finished victoriously. Overall, they were ranked 1st in the race and had 8 athletes with top 10 finishes. Their 4.2-mile placings are as followed:
Phillip Lagemann (1st): 21:43.56
Luke Skinner (2nd): 22:31.56
Eric Vasquez (3rd): 22:37.70
Jacob Rice-Stewart (6th): 22:55.19
Nicholas Thomas (7th): 22:59.98
Johnathan Bowan (9th): 23:09.72
Clayton Price (10th): 23:15.61
Brendan Erwin (13th): 23:41.81
Nathan Jackson (21st) 24:32.96
Juan Tirado-Garcia (27th): 26:21.64
Stokely Rosser (34th): 27:30.94
Their preseason ranking had them slotted at 8th in the NAIA top 25 making the results in their first race integral. This created a standard for the rest of the season and prestigious reputation they look to uphold.
Volleyball
On September 1st, Women’s Volleyball played two matches at the Bulldog bash against Benedictine College and Valley City State University. They beat Benedictine in 4 sets by scores of 28-26, 18-25, 25-16 and 25-16. The Spires overtook the Ravens in kills 58-45 and digs by 71-62.
In their match against Valley City State, the Spires fell in 4 games. They quickly trailed in the first two games by scores of 26-24 and 25-15 but came back in the third game to win it 25-22. It was not quite enough to make them through the fourth set where they are outmatched by a score of 25-15. While the Spires led the Vikings in digs the rest of the game was not in their favor.
On September 4th, Spires Volleyball travelled to Columbia, Missouri where they swept Stephens College in 3 sets. They didn’t give the Stars the option to make it to the twenties with game scores of 25-15, 25-11 and 25-19. Cody Offerle registered a team high of 11 kills in that match with Aly Camacho close behind with 8 kills.
Saint Mary volleyball currently sits at 6th in the conference with an overall record of 5-4.
Football
On September 1st, Spires Football squeaked past Tabor College by a score of 13-10. This was a huge win for the Spires as it was the first game they played after tragically losing teammate Christian Yanos last year during a practice. Nic Roller and Demontrel Wilson scored the two touchdowns for the Spires and as a result of his efforts in this game, Nicholas Holmes was named the KCAC defensive player of the week. He recorded 6 tackles, 3 interceptions and 65 interceptions return yards and really was a pivotal player in this win. The Spires scored early finishing the first half with a 13-3 lead. They were able to hold the lead right through the end despite Tabor finding a spark of late energy that couldn’t quite get the job done for them. Saint Mary Football will be back in action on Saturday, September 8th as they play Ottawa on the road and their next home game will be September 29th as they host Sterling College.
Men’s Soccer
The men played a hard-fought game against Kansas Christian College on September 5th and came up with a 1-0 win. They played 77 scoreless minutes when finally, Elijah Tombs scored the game-winning goal at 77:06. Goalie Tavita Ploetz made 5 saves and is rewarded with the shutout. Jay Willcutt and Ever Hernandez led the team in shots for the night with 3 each. Tombs’ tally of the night went unassisted. Men’s soccer will play next on Saturday, September 8th at home against Park University.
Women’s Soccer
Before the Men’s win on September 5th, the Women’s soccer team faced Benedictine College who are always tough competitors. The Ravens sit at 3rd in the national rankings and blow past the Spires by a score of 7-1. Justine Brown-DaCosta scored the lone goal by the Spires with the assist coming from Molly Devine. At this point, they were within 1 of the Ravens and finished the first half trailing 3-1. Benedictine would go on to score 4 goals in the second half, leaving the Spires with a 6 goal deficit. Shots on goal ended at 16-4 in favor of the Ravens. The women’s soccer team looks to rebound on Saturday, September 8th when they host Park University.
Paige Siewert is a Senior at the University of Saint Mary studying Digital Communications.
USM SPIRE-TIMES 