KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The third time was not a charm for Griffon Volleyball (17-13) as the Griffons fell in three sets to Northwest Missouri (21-8) in the opening round of the MIAA Championships.
 
After two five-set thrillers with their rivals in the regular season, Missouri Western dropped the first set 25-12, the second 25-18 and the third 27-25. The Griffons hit .068 in the first with a 29 sideout percentage. Missouri Western kept the second close until the Bearcats closed out the set outscoring MWSU 10-4. The back-and-forth third set included eight ties and six lead changes. Sam Duncan got a Griff rally going in the third, serving on five points of a 6-0 run for the Griffs. With Northwest leading 23-20 in the third, MWSU scored four straight to give MWSU the serve on the first game point. The teams traded points back and forth until the Bearcats ended it with back-to-back kills.
 
NOTABLES

• Northwest had 10 more kills (47) than the Griffs and recorded six aces to MWSU's three.
• The Bearcats hit .267 in the match with the Griffons hitting .129.
• No Griffons reached double-digit kills; Karly Tharp led the team with eight and had 10 digs.
• Danielle Moje had seven kills with three in each of the final two sets and two blocks.
• Alie Kerns and Ali Tauchen each had six kills with Tauchen adding 16 digs and two blocks.
• Tiana Butler led the team with 18 digs.
• Lauren Murphy had 25 assists.

 
Northwest Missouri advanced to face top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Nebraska Kearney in the MIAA semifinals on Saturday.