ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — After taking set two to even up Friday night's matchup with Pittsburg State, Griffon Volleyball dropped two-straight sets to the Gorillas, losing in four sets at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
SET 1
PSU 25, MWSU 21
The early goings of the first set remained close, with Missouri Western (6-14, 3-9 MIAA) and Pitt State exchanged multiple runs to remain deadlocked at 21-21 later on. Pitt State (13-9, 7-6 MIAA) rattled off five-straight points highlighted by two kills and a service ace to take set one, 25-21.
SET 2
MWSU 25, PSU 20
Pitt State took early reiins of set two, going up 3-0 before MWSU slammed homed three-straight kills courtesy of
Emma Salker, who led the team with 12. Trailing 6-5, the Griffons turned to kills by
Hailey Crane,
Nessa Johnson and
Danielle Moje to take back the lead. The last tie of the set was broken at 11-11 thanks to a 4-0 spurt by the Griffons, with kills by Johnson,
Yanni Washington and
Lily Kurz overwhelming the Gorillas.
Jonson finished run off with a service ace, putting MWSU up indefinitely for the rest of the set. Kurz ended the set with a kill to win, 25-20.
SET 3
PSU 25, MWSU 12
Missouri Western kept pace with Pitt early at 7-7, but 4-0 gauntlet by the Gorillas put them up for the rest of the game. Leading 18-11, a 7-0 run by PSU put the Gorillas in position to close out the 25-12 win with a kill from Janae Thurston.
SET 4
PSU 25, MWSU 22
Trading leads left right early on, the Griffons grabbed a 10-8 lead after a 4-0 run capped off by another kill from Salker. Up 21-19, MWSU gave up three more points in a row to relinquish their final lead of the night. Pitt ended the night by breaking a 22-22 night with three-straight kills to leave the Looney Complex with the win.
NOTABLES
- Salker's season-high 12 kills led the Griffons.
- Moje's 10 kills marks three-straight matches with double-digit kills.
- Three Pitt players recorded 10 kills or more.
UP NEXT
Missouri Western ends its weekend slate with a 3 p.m. match with Missouri Southern (9-12, 4-8 MIAA) back at the MWSU Fieldhouse. The Lions lost to No. 25 Central Missouri on Friday night in Warrensburg, Missouri, 3-1.
