ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Although the Griffons already had plenty of fanfare on tap for Friday evening, celebrating Senior Night against Newman University, Ali Tauchen made it even more special as she became the all-time rally scoring kills leader for Missouri Western in the third set of MWSU's 3-0 sweep of the Jets. Tauchen finished the match with 10 kills, giving her 1,271 for her career to surpass Linsday Palaia's 1,268. Although her 10 kills were the highlight of the match, Allie Kerns (15) and Karly Tharp (11) led a surging Griffon offense.
Missouri Western broke open the first set on Tauchen's second trip to the service line, as the Griffons reeled off five straight points to open up a 19-12 lead. The second set saw a nearly identical storyline, with Tauchen taking up residence at the service line for an eight-point run as Missouri Western opened up a 19-11 lead. Danielle Moje joined Tharp in keying the second set run, as Moje picked up a pair of kills and a monstrous solo block to join Tharp's three kills during the run.
Going into the third set, Tauchen needed just three kills to hit her career mark, but started inauspiciously as she picked up an attack error to allow Newman to take a 5-4 lead in the set. The Iowa City, Iowa, senior immediately shook off the setback, pounding back-to-back kills to put the Griffons back in front 6-5 and match Palaia's 1,268. Three rallies later, Tauchen found the floor off an assist from Nessa Johnson, and the celebration sparked a 6-1 run for the Griffons.
Newman made one final push to narrow its deficit to 15-13, but the Griffons stormed back to close out the match on a 10-3 run. The run marked a symbolic passing of the torch, as the bulk of the Griffon's scoring came from the freshmen and sophomores on the MWSU roster.
MWSU finished the night hitting at a .318 pace (49 k, 10 ae, 110 att.) and recorded nine total blocks, holding Newman to .065 hitting (22 k, 16 ae, 92 att) and claiming four service aces. Jessica Sachen (12) and Hailey Crane (11) led MWSU on the defensive side of the ball.
The Griffons finish the home portion of the regular season on Saturday, hosting Central Oklahoma. The match is set for a 5:30 p.m. tip.