SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — From nearly experiencing a sweeping loss to scorching through the next six sets of the day, Griffon Volleyball had themselves quite the Friday afternoon on day two of the Illinois Springfield Tournament.

VS. MCKENDREE
The Bearcats had the Griffons on the brink in match one on Friday, leading Missouri Western 2-0 early on. Drastically changing the course of their first doubleheader of the season, the Griffons fired back with three-straight wins to mount a ferious comeback over McKendree.

The Griffons were led by a double-double from Holly Heldt, who registered 12 kills and 15 digs on the day. Taylor Russell also added 11 kills to help the attack. On the defensive end, Anna Weberg chipped in for with 24 digs to go with six blocks from Lily Kurz.

SET 1 | The Griffons found themselves in an early deficit, dropping a tough first set 25-16. MWSU trailed by as many as 10 points as McKendree grabbed the advantage for good at 10-9 in a set that was tied up four times before the Bearcats took control.

SET 2 | A 27-25 set-two loss put MWSU behind two sets to none in the match. The Griffons dropped a tight second set, losing in a game that was tied eight times and had seven lead changes.

SET 3 | Missouri Western rallied back to pull within two sets to one, winning their first set of the match in the third game. The Griffons took the lead for good at 20-19 in a set that showcased three lead changes before MWSU took over in the second half of the stanza. They then carried that lead to a 25-23 set win. Missouri Western's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking four McKendree attacks to kickstart the comeback.

SET 4 | Missouri Western then kept the comeback train rolling, winning the fourth set 25-16 to bring the match level to two sets apiece. The Griffons took the lead for good at 11-10 in a set that showcased two lead changes before the Griffons took over the lead.

SET 5 | Missouri Western lost the first two sets but put together an epic comeback to win the next three sets, culminating in a 15-12 fifth-set victory to take the match 3-2. The Griffons took the lead for good at 13-12 in a set that showcased three lead changes before the Griffons took over the lead.

GAMES NOTES

• Heldt registered a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs.
• Missouri Western got a match-high 24 digs from Anna Weberg.
• Nessa Johnson notched her first double-double of the season with 22 digs and a team-high 30 assists.

VS, ARKANSAS TECH
The Griffon offense was paced by Taylor Russell, who finished with 11 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .563, and by Emma Salker, who had 10 while hitting .381. The Griffons also got six digs from Lily Kurz to lead them defensively.

SET 1 | The Griffons took control of the set-one lead at 2-1 and never trailed to win 25-21. Missouri Western led by as many as 11 points at 14-3 before closing out the set. The Griffs got a solid defensive performance from their front row that blocked four Arkansas Tech attacks.

SET 2 | After their win in the first set, the Griffs put themselves on the cusp of a sweep with a 25-12 victory in set number two. The Griffons took a 1-0 lead and never looked back in the set to earn the victory. Missouri Western opened its biggest lead of the stanza, 13 points, to close out the set, collecting 16 kills while only registering two attack errors along the way. The Griffons hit .560 over the course of the set. The Missouri Western offense also got a boost from three aces.

SET 3 | Missouri Western closed the match in a 3-0 sweep after grabbing the third set. The Griffons won the set 25-15 thanks to a solid performance on the attacking side. Missouri Western registered a .333 attack percentage with eight kills in the set win. The Griffons ended on a strong note, stretching their lead to its largest point in the set to finish out the match. The Missouri Western offense also got a boost from six more aces.

GAME NOTES

• Jadyn Padilla had a match-high four aces in the win.
• Missouri Wester never trailed on the way to winning the second set 25-12.
• Missouri Western served up six aces on the way to a third-set victory.
• Missouri Western got a team-high six digs from Lily Kurz.
• Missouri Western attackers were helped by a match-high 23 assists from Nessa Johnson.