PITTSBURG, Kan. - Senior setter Nessa Johnson achieved her 3,000th career assist as the Griffons (15-4, 6-2 MIAA) defeated Pittsburg State (9-9, 4-4 MIAA), 3-1, at Lance Arena on Friday night. MWSU claimed the match with set scores of 25-18, 25-22, 20- 25 and 25-18.
 
In the first set, the Griffons found their rhythm around the midway point with a 10-2 run, highlighted by three kills from Holly Heldt. They led by as many as 10 in route to the set victory. Johnson finished with 10 assists and secured her 3,000th career assist with her eighth assist.
 
Western opened the second set strong with a 3-0 run, but the Gorillas responded quickly in the back-and-forth set, consisting of nine ties and four lead changes. After trailing by as many as four points midway through the set, the Griffons went on a 7-2 run to take the lead at 20-19, prompting Pitt to call a timeout. Emma Salker and Heldt led the charge down the stretch to secure the three-point win.
 
Pittsburg State avoided being swept by winning the third set 25-20. Both teams struggled with hitting, but the Gorillas capitalized on 11 Griffon errors and recorded nine blocks to win the set.
 
The Griffons bounced back in the fourth and final set. They reached the 20-point mark first and took advantage of four attacking errors from the Gorillas to claim the set 25-18. Taylor Russell and Salker both collected three kills, while Johnson added seven assists.
 
Johnson paced the offense with a match-leading 33 assists. The Gilbert, Iowa, native notched her sixth straight double-double with 14 digs defensively. Libero Anna Weberg also shined on defense with 30 digs.
 
Heldt collected her eighth double-double of the season with 16 digs and a match-leading 12 kills. Noelle Sutcliffe (11) and Salker (10) also performed well with double-digit kills.

Missouri Western will return to action tomorrow afternoon in Wichita, Kansas, against Newman (3-19, 0-8 MIAA). Opening serve from Fugate Gymnasium is slated to begin at 3:00 p.m.