Box Score Season Stats | Career Stats
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Griffons improved to 7-10 on the season as they defeated Emporia State Tuesday night at MWSU Fieldhouse 3-1.
It was the first victory against the Hornets since Sept. 23, 2006 when the Griffons won 3-2, and the first home win for the Griffons over the Hornets since Oct. 16, 2002 when they won 3-1.
In the first set the Griffons took control early but let it slip away. After a 2-1 lead, Paige Vanderpool put together four straight kills for the Hornets. Missouri Western struck back later on in the set after it trailed 19-16.
The Griffons scored six out of the next nine points to tie the match at 22.
Sarah Faubel put together a streak of kills to take the lead back.
Kelsey Olion also added two kills as the Griffons finished the set with a 28-26 victory.
After taking the first set narrowly, the Griffons led throughout the second set. The Griffons opened with a 5-1 lead after
Erica Rottinghaus had a kill. The Griffons expanded their lead to 16-10 after a kill from Olion. The Hornets battled back to mark the score 19-17, but the Griffons held on and score six out of the next eight points to win it 25-19 and lead 2-0.
Emporia State came out of the break ready to take the third set. The Hornets came out on fire taking a 16-9 advantage before the Griffons came back with three straight points of their own.
Their run was short lived, however, as the Hornets won the third set 25-18.
The fourth set was again back and forth as neither team could command much of a lead. The Griffons fell behind midway through as the game settled at 15-13.
Missouri Western took a slim lead, 18-17, before the match was tied at 20. The Griffons scored two more points to again take the lead.
Rottinghaus finalized the match with a strong kill at the end to win the set 25-23 and win the match 3-1.
Olion led the Griffons with 16 kills on the night. Rottinghaus had 13 to place second.
Kelly Scannell had a team-high and career-high 47 assists. The Hornets were led by Courtney Haring and Meghan Dugan who each had 12 kills.
The Griffons avenged an earlier-season loss to the Hornets, who defeated the Griffons 3-2 in Emporia, Kan. Missouri Western returns to action this weekend in the Missouri Southern Invitational where it will play three matches.
