ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Missouri Western volleyball pushed their win streak to eight games on Friday night with a 3-1 win before falling to Nebraska Kearney on Saturday night. The Griffons are tied for second with three other teams in the MIAA with an 8-2 conference record.

Scouting the Griffons- On Friday, Griffon Volleyball rallied for their eighth straight win with a 3-1 victory over Fort Hays. It's the program's longest win streak since the 2002 team started the season 8-0. The Griffons dropped the first set 25-20 then battled back to even things out with a 25-27 win in set two. Missouri Western took the momentum and ran to two more sets for their eighth straight since dropping the conference opener to UCM. It was an impressive night for individual performances. Jessie Thorup hit .467 with 25 kills. Kelsey Olion added 13 kills and 11 digs. Erica Rottinghaus followed with 11 kills and 11 digs. Jordan Chohon had 58 assists and 10 digs. Sarah Faubel added to her MWSU record with 20 kills on the night. 

On Saturday Griffon Volleyball's bid for a ninth straight win came up short against No. 8 Nebraska Kearney. The Griffons took the first set 25-20 but the Lopers bounced back in a big way, winning set two 25-8 and set three 25-17. Missouri Western came out strong in the fourth set, jumping to a 16-12 lead before Nebraska Kearney stormed back to take the fourth set and the match with a 25-21 set victory. Erica Rottinghaus finished with 16 kills and eight digs while hitting .464. Sarah Faubel finished with 19 digs and Jordan Chohon finished the weekend road trip strong with 38 assists and 11 digs. 

Missouri Western continues to perform at a high level with a .272 attack percentage leading the MIAA and the Griffons sit third in assist at 12.92 per set. The Griffons continue to rely on Amanda Boender, Jessie Thorup, Kelsey Olion and Erica Rottinghaus all averaging over 2.30 kills per set. After this past weekend, Jordan Chohon moved herself into first place in the MIAA with an average of 11.62 assist per set. Sarah Faubel is the leader defensively, averaging 3.67 digs per set followed by Olion and Rottinghaus each averaging just over two per set.

Scouting the Bearcats – Northwest Missouri State is currently 9-9 overall and post a conference record of 6-4. This past weekend, the Bearcats when 1-1 after traveling to Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State. The Lopers were able to beat the Bearcats in three sets not allowing more than 20 points in any set. On Saturday, the Bearcats took care of Fort Hays winning in three sets.

The Bearcats are balanced offensively with four different players averaging over 2 kills per set. Miranda Foster is averaging 3.44 kills per set to lead the team placing her ninth in the MIAA.  The offensive is primarily run through setter Sarah Dannettell, she is averaging 10.13 assist per set. Bailey Vance is currently ninth in the MIAA with 3.89 digs per set.

Current MIAA Standings
 

SCHOOL	CONF	CPCT.	OVERALL	PCT.	STREAK
Washburn	9-1	0.900	17-1	0.944	W7
Central Oklahoma	8-2	0.800	16-2	0.889	W3
Nebraska Kearney	8-2	0.800	16-2	0.889	W2
Missouri Western	8-2	0.800	14-4	0.778	L1
Central Missouri	8-2	0.800	11-7	0.611	L1
Northwest Missouri	6-4	0.600	9-9	0.500	W1
Emporia State	3-7	0.300	7-8	0.467	L1
Pittsburg State	3-7	0.300	6-12	0.333	W1
Fort Hays State	2-8	0.200	7-11	0.389	L5
Lindenwood	2-8	0.200	5-13	0.278	L2
Missouri Southern	2-8	0.200	5-13	0.278	W1
Southwest Baptist	1-9	0.100	6-12	0.333	L7

 
Match Details
Live Stats for the game can be found here

Looking Ahead
The Griffons will return to the road as they head to take on Emporia State on Friday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. and Washburn on Saturday, Oct. 18^th at 6 p.m.