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ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Volleyball wraps up a five-match road swing with a Tuesday night, non-conference tilt at Truman State.
 
The Griffons are 3-1 so far on the road trip and will look for their fourth win against a former MIAA foe. Truman State sits 13-9 overall and 6-5 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Truman has lost three straight, including a four-set loss at Missouri S&T. Missouri Western is 17-5 and 9-2 in the MIAA with the team's only two conference losses coming to ranked opponents (#14 Central Oklahoma and #15 Washburn). Of the team's five overall losses, only one has come at the hands of an unranked opponent, Missouri S&T.
 
Missouri Western has won six of its last seven, including a five-set win at then No. 11 Central Missouri. This past weekend, the Griffons won two straight-set matches at Missouri Southern and Southwest Baptist. On Saturday, senior outside hitter Jessie Thorup took the program lead for career kills in the rally scoring era. The first team All-MIAA selection one year ago now has 1,132 kills in her career. Thorup currently sits fourth in the MIAA, averaging 3.76 kills per set. Lindsey Partridge has worked her way into 10^th in the MIAA with a .296 hitting percentage. Jordan Chohon ranks fourth in the MIAA with 10.53 assists per set and eighth with 0.29 aces per set. Rachel Friedrichs has climbed into fourth in the MIAA with 0.96 blocks per set and Kayla Ruff's 4.84 digs per set are sixth most in the MIAA. Missouri Western is a half-game ahead of No. 13 Nebraska-Kearney for third place in the MIAA standings and is the only team in the MIAA top-five not to be ranked in the AVCA top-25. The Griffons did receive 29 votes in this week's poll, third most among teams not ranked.
 
Kayla Bastian's 261 kills (3.07/set) lead Truman State. Bastian also leads the team with 0.38 service aces per set and her 3.76 digs per set are a team-high. Kayleen Green's 309 assists are the most on the team, but Matti Mason's 8.22 per set is the team's highest average. Ali Patterson leads the team with 1.09 blocks per set. Truman State is hitting .195 as a team and holding opponents to a .158 hitting percentage.
 
It will be the first time the two teams have met since Oct. 2, 2013, a 3-1 Truman State victory. Missouri Western has defeated Truman State once in the last 13 years, a five-set win in St. Joseph in 2011.