Game One
ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western Volleyball team beat East Central University 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23) to start day two at the Gold & Green Challenge.

 The Griffons used two different 6-0 runs to take the first set with ease from the Tigers, winning 25-16.  Second set saw Missouri Western fight off a late East Central rally of 7-0 to finally secure the set point on a Rachel Losch kill.

 The Tigers were able to carry the momentum they had built at the end of set two into the third and stole the set 25-22. The fourth set again saw the Griffons break out to an early lead and carry it towards the end of the set, only to have East Central make another late rally.  An attack error on the Tigers would secure the match for MWSU.

 The Griffons will play their final match in the Gold & Green Challenge at 6 p.m. tonight in the MWSU Fieldhouse.  Missouri Western will take on Minnesota State in the finale. 

Game Two
ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western Volleyball fell to Minnesota State 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 31-29) to finish the Gold & Green Challenge.

The Griffons found themselves in a tight match early in the first set.  Trailing by four Missouri Western used a Minnesota State attack error to start a 4-0 run and take an 11-10 lead.  The Mavericks however would regain the lead and not let go.  A Rachel Friedrichs kill in the second set allowed the Griffons to tie it at 13. However, MWSU never could get the lead, falling behind 2-0 in the match.  The Griffons wasted little time getting started in the third set, racing out to a 5-1 advantage. A Minnesota State attack error allowed Missouri Western to push their lead to 12-5. The Mavericks found a way to fight back into the set and take a 25-24 lead and eventually win the match. 

The Griffons received a dominating performance from Friedrichs as she delivered 17 kills with .571 hitting percentage.  Missouri Western travels to Shawnee, Oklahoma next weekend for the GAC-MIAA Crossover. The Griffons will again play four matches in two days, starting at 12 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16 against Southeastern Oklahoma State.