THIS WEEK IN GRIFFON VOLLEYBALL
Tuesday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m. at Truman State (11-3)
Friday, Sept. 28, 5:30 p.m. vs #6 Nebraska Kearney (16-1, 4-1)
Saturday, Sept. 29, 1 p.m. vs Fort Hays State (6-11, 0-5)
 
ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Volleyball wraps up its regular season non-conference slate this week with a trip to Truman State before returning home and to MIAA play this weekend.
 
The Griffons' trip to Kirksville, Missouri will end a stretch of four-straight road matches in seven days for the Griffs.
 
5 THINGS TO WATCH

• Missouri Western has got out to a fast start in nearly every match this season, winning 13 of 16 first sets and 12 of 16 second sets
• After the second set, the Griffons have just 11 total set wins; nine in the third, two in the fourth and none in the fifth
• Liv Winker has played the last nine sets at setter for the Griffons, taking over in the third at Northwest last week. Winker averaged 9.6 assists, 2.6 digs, 1.1 kills and 0.4 blocks per set last week. The Griffons hit .178 with Winker setting.
• Friday night, Missouri Western faces No. 6 Nebraska Kearney. The Griffons and Lopers shared the 2017 MIAA regular season championship, splitting the regular season series. Missouri Western bested UNK in the regular season finale in the MWSU Fieldhouse to force a share of the crown. UNK took the postseason championship match from the Griffs a week later in Kearney. A few days later, MWSU ended the Lopers' season in the first round of the NCAA Central Region Championships.
• After averaging 4.09 kills per set through the team's first 12 matches, Stephanie Doak was limited to 3.09 last week and saw her hitting percentage dip from .201 to .192

 
SCOUTING THE GRIFFONS (9-7, 2-3 MIAA)

• Went 1-2 with a 3-0 win at Southwest Baptist in between a three-set loss at Northwest and a five-set loss at Missouri Southern last week
• MWSU is hitting .213 as a team and limiting opponents to a .170 average
• The Griffons averaged 13.2 kills per set while opponents are getting 12.6
• Stephanie Doak leads the team with 3.84 kills per set, ranking second in the MIAA
• Lauren Murphy still ranks second in the MIAA and leads the team with 11 assists per set
• Rachel Losch averages 0.93 blocks per set to lead the team
• Audrey Keim ranks third in the MIAA with 5.36 digs per set

 
SCOUTING TRUMAN STATE (11-3, 4-2 GLVC)

• The Bulldogs hit four-straight wins with a three-set victory at Southern Indiana and a four-set win at Bellarmine last week
• Truman State is hitting .241 as a team and limiting opponents to a .149 average
• Ellie Kaat leads the team with 3.54 kills per set
• Jocelynn Livingston is hitting .335 and averages 2.54 kills per set
• Primary setter Savvy Hughes averages 10.76 assists per set
• Natalie Brimeyer leads the team with 0.9 blocks per set, closely followed by Holly Hildebrand's 0.86
• Lauren Wacker averages a team-high 4.49 digs per set

 
SCOUTING NEBRASKA KEARNEY

• UNK went 3-0 last week with a three-set win over Fort Hays State, a five-set win over No. 16 Central Oklahoma and a sweep of Pittsburg State last week
• The Lopers' opponents are hitting an MIAA-low .082 on the season
• UNK is hitting .252 as a team, third best in the MIAA
• Julianne Jackson leads the team with 2.42 kills per set
• Four Lopers are averaging at least 2.38 kills per set
• Mackenzie Puckett is hitting .357
• MK Wolfe leads the team with 0.43 blocks per set

 
SCOUTING FORT HAYS STATE

• The Tigers went 0-3 last week with three-set losses to UNK and UCO and a four-set loss to Pittsburg State to stretch their losing streak to seven matches
• FHSU is hitting .146 as a team while its opponents are hitting .195
• Kylie Rollman's 2.73 kills per set is the highest average on the team
• Amirah Bentley has 978 total assists this season, averaging 8.89 per set
• Callie Christensen leads the team with 1.19 blocks per set
• Taylor White averaged 4.77 digs per set