GRIFFON VOLLEYBALL REGIONAL PREVIEW
Thursday, Nov. 30 / 2:30 p.m. / Marshall, Minnesota / PE Gym
(6) Missouri Western (24-10) vs
(3) Nebraska Kearney (33-3)
Live Video |
Live Audio |
Live Stats
NCAA DII Volleyball Championships Bracket |
Regional Webpage |
MWSU Match Notes (PDF) |
Nebraska Kearney Preview
ST. JOSEPH - It may be unfamiliar territory, but the opponent is anything but a stranger. The Missouri Western volleyball team will make its first NCAA regional appearance in 17 years this Thursday against Nebraska Kearney, a team the Griffons will be seeing for the third time in less than four weeks and the fourth time this season.
Thursday will be the third match between the MIAA regular season co-champions in each team's last five matches. Nebraska Kearney won two of the three matches between the teams this season, ending the Griffons' 13-match win streak on Nov. 18 in the MIAA Championship final, the last match for both teams.
The Griffons and Lopers are the second match of four on Thursday in the opening round of the tournament. The winner of Thursday's grudge match will move on to the regional semifinals to face the winner of Thursday's No. 2-seed Concordia-St. Paul versus No. 7-seed Central Oklahoma match. This year's regional is hosted by top-seeded Southwest Minnesota State. The Mustangs were awarded the No. 1-seed after knocking off defending national champion Concordia St. Paul in the NSIC Championship final.
FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME
Missouri Western's at-large bid into the NCAA Division II Championships was a first for the program in 17 years. The Griffons last appeared in a regional in 2000 and have just one other national tournament qualification (1995) without a win.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
The Griffons won 17 of their final 19 matches, including a 13-match win streak that saw the team win a share of its first-ever MIAA regular season championship and advance to the MIAA Championship final for the first time in program history. During the run, the Griffons went 4-1 against ranked competition, with its only loss coming to Nebraska Kearney in the MIAA championship match, one week after knocking off the Lopers in the regular season finale. The 13-match win streak began on Oct. 13 at then No. 7-ranked Central Oklahoma. After the team bus broke down on the way to Edmond, Oklahoma, the Griffons ended UCO's 17-match winning streak and 23-match home unbeaten streak. Over its last 14 matches, MWSU dropped just 15 sets, while winning 40. Marian Carbin was named MIAA Coach of the Year,
Ali Tauchen was named MIAA Freshman of the year and six Griffons were named All-MIAA.
THEY MEET AGAIN
The regional match-up will be the fourth this season between the two teams. Missouri Western's 13-match win streak was book ended by losses to Nebraska Kearney. The Lopers defeated MWSU in Kearney in three sets on Oct. 7. The Griffons didn't lose again until the MIAA championship match on Nov. 18, again in Kearney. Missouri Western won its home match against the Lopers on Nov. 11 in four sets. UNK won the first set in that match, clinching the No. 1-seed in the MIAA Championships, but the Griffons match-win meant the teams shared the regular season conference title.
MARIAN CARBIN
Carbin won her 100th match as head coach of her alma mater on Nov. 17, when the Griffons rallied back to knock off Central Oklahoma in the MIAA Championship semifinals. The 2007 Missouri Western graduate is 100-58 in her five seasons as head coach. Carbin has led the Griffons to 20-plus-win seasons in three of the last four years. Her back-to-back 20-win seasons in 2014-15 were a first for the program since 1997-98. The 16 MIAA wins in 2014 were the most in program history, matched by 16 again this year. The Griffons' 24 wins this year are the most for the program since 1997 and her 16-15 record in her first season was the first winning record for the program since 2006. Carbin was the 2004-05 MWSU Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year. A four-year letter winner, Carbin accumulated 557 kills, 1,009 digs, 135 assists and 128 aces. Carbin was named 2005 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America.
ALL ABOUT THE FOURTH
Twenty-three of Missouri Western's 34 matches have went at least four sets, and the numbers show it has been the most important set of the match for the Griffons. When MWSU has won the fourth set this season, the Griffons are 12-0. When they lose the fourth, the Griffs are 0-7.
RIDING MOMENTUM INTO THE FIFTH
At 0-7 following fourth set losses and 4-0 in fifth sets, the Griffons have clearly used momentum in the winner-take-all set. If the win-loss record doesn't say enough, MWSU has not won a fifth set by less than two points, and that was the team's first five-set match of the season back on Oct. 13. Since then the Griffons have won their five-set matches 15-10, 15-5 and 15-10, respectively.
THE MORE THE MERRIER
Fourteen times this season, three Griffons had double-digit kills. In those matches, Missouri Western went 12-2. Eight times this season, the Griffons had four in double-figures, winning every one of those matches. The numbers don't show any strong correlation to any one individual's kill numbers having a huge factor on a win or loss.
Stephanie Doak had double-digit kills in all but two of the team's wins this year, but also had 10 or more in seven of the 10 losses. The biggest difference in average came from
Shellby Taylor who averaged 2.97 kills per set in wins while hitting .327 in those victories. In losses. Taylor hit .097 and averaged 1.97 kills per set.
