PITTSBURG, Kan. – Griffon Volleyball moved to 4-0 on the season with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-10, 25-27, 25-20) win over Midwestern State (1-2) to close out its opening weekend at the Gorilla Classic.
 
Winning the fourth straight match to open the season wasn't easy, despite the match score. The Griffons trailed 17-13 in the first before a 10-2 run put the Griffs within two of taking the first set. MWSU had to fight off a late Midwestern rally wot win the set 25-23. After a dominant second set by the Griffons, Midwestern State evened the match with a 27-25 win in the third set. Midwestern State led 10-4 in the third and later led 16-11, but the Griffons fought back to eventually take a 23-21 lead. Midwestern State had set point at 24-23 before the teams traded scores until MSU got the final two. In the fourth, the Griffs never trailed by more than a point to get out of the weekend dropping just two sets.
 
MATCH STATS

• Ali Tauchen capped a stellar weekend with 15 kills, two blocks and six digs
• Lauren Murphy had 36 assists along with eight kills on a .467 hitting percentage and four digs
• Tiana Butler had 23 digs and three aces
• Lindsey Hartline had a team-high four aces
• The Griffs hit .255 and had 12 aces in the match
• Maryssa Recio turned in her third double-digit kill effort of the season with 10
• Emiley Cross had five kills and two blocks while hitting .500
• Allie Kerns and Sam Duncan had eight kills each

 
ON THE WEEKEND

• MWSU hit .269 with opponents hitting .100
• The Griffs turned in 34 aces, averaging 2.4 per set
• MWSU averaged 15.3 digs per set and just 1.6 reception errors per set
• Tauchen had 49 kills, averaging 3.5 per set while hitting .350
• Tiana Butler matched her career-high then set a new one for digs in a match and finished with 77, averaging 5.5 digs per set with a .989 reception percentage
• Sam Duncan had 40 kills
• Recio had 35 kills and Allie Kerns finished with 32 in her first weekend
• Murphy averaged 10.2 assists per set and also hit .452 with 17 kills

 
UP NEXT

• MWSU travels to Springfield, Missouri, for four matches in the Drury Invitational, Sept. 13 and 14
• The Griffs will open play at No. 18 Drury (1-2) and also will face Colorado Mesa, who is receiving votes, and No. 8 Northern State on Saturday