ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Griffon Volleyball looks to pull away from the pack atop the MIAA standings when they travel to the Sunflower State this weekend for matches with Emporia State and No. 5 Washburn. Missouri Western enters as winners of nine of their last 10 matches and has already defeated each of this weekend's opponents. 

Scouting the Griffons- Griffon Volleyball gutted out a three set sweep of Northwest Missouri State Tuesday night for their ninth win in their last 10 matches. The Griffons took set one 25-20; set two 25-21 and rallied from behind to take set three 27-25. MWSU faced set point, 24-21 in the third set but rallied to take the set and match. Jessie Thorup led the team with eight kills. The Griffons were able to win despite a .099 hitting percentage and 25 total attack errors. Jordan Chohon finished with 28 assists and Sarah Faubel had 12 kills. 

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 11.54 assist per set. Sarah Faubel is the leader defensively, averaging 3.68 digs per set followed by Olion and Rottinghaus, each averaging just over two per set.

Scouting the Hornets – The Hornets record this season is 8-8 overall along with a 4-7 conference record.  Emporia State went 1-1 over this past weekend beating Southwest Baptist 3-1 but fell to Pittsburg State in a close five set match 3-2. On Tuesday night, Emporia State traveled to Fort Hays State and claimed victory in a three set match.

ESU is led by Carly Spicer as she averages 3.63 kills per set with a .229 attack percentage. Also making contributions are Josie Williams and Courtney Haring, each adding two kills per set. The Hornets run their offense through two setters. Kimberly Bell averages 5.94 assist per set and Sydney Hartman adds 4.00 per set.  Emporia State also has multiple individuals they can rely on for digs. Kelly Holden sits sixth in the conference with 4.52 digs per set and Carly Spicer averages 3.37 per set.

Scouting the Ichabods – Washburn University currently holds an overall record of 17-2 and a 9-2 conference record. This past weekend the Ichabods went 2-0 after beating Pittsburg State on Friday night with a score of 3-0 and Southwest Baptist Saturday night 3-1. WU traveled to No. 7 Nebraska Kearney Tuesday night, they lost the first two sets by two points and couldn't overcome the deficit losing the third game as well.

Washburn is strong offensively with Sarah Vicory and Marissa Cox both ranked in the top-five in the MIAA with hitting percentages of .365 and .347 respectively. The Ichabods also have two players in the top-5 for kills per set. Cox averages 3.95 kills per set and Leanna Willer contributes 3.78 kills per set. On defense, Alyssa Carney averages 5.05 digs per set followed by four others all averaging over 2.30 digs per set. As a unit, Washburn holds its opponents to just a .104 hitting percentage and rank first in kills per set with 14.41.

Current MIAA Standings

SCHOOL	CONF	CPCT.	OVERALL	PCT.	STREAK
Central Oklahoma	9-2	0.818	17-2	0.895	W4
Nebraska Kearney	9-2	0.818	17-2	0.895	W3
Washburn	9-2	0.818	17-2	0.895	L1
Missouri Western	9-2	0.818	15-4	0.789	W1
Central Missouri	9-2	0.818	12-7	0.632	W1
Northwest Missouri	6-5	0.545	9-10	0.474	L1
Emporia State	4-7	0.364	8-8	0.500	W1
Pittsburg State	3-8	0.273	6-13	0.316	L1
Fort Hays State	2-9	0.182	7-12	0.368	L6
Southwest Baptist	2-9	0.182	7-12	0.368	W1
Lindenwood	2-9	0.182	5-14	0.263	L3
Missouri Southern	2-9	0.182	5-14	0.263	L1

Looking Ahead
The Griffons return home next weekend to face Missouri Southern State University on Friday night at 7 p.m. and will play Central Oklahoma on Saturday night at 7 p.m. It will be homecoming weekend on the campus of Missouri Western State University.