ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The red-hot Missouri Western volleyball team (11-2, 2-0 MIAA) will hit the road for the first time in MIAA play this weekend against No. 3 Nebraska Kearney (14-0, 2-0 MIAA) and Fort Hays State (9-2, 1-1 MIAA).
Friday's match will Lopers will take place at 6:00 p.m. from the Health & Science Center in Kearney, Nebraska. The finale against the Tigers will be on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays, Kansas.
RECAPPING LAST WEEK
The Griffons had a strong start to conference play by sweeping Emporia State last Friday. On Saturday, they achieved their best start of the NCAA Division II era and since 1987 with a back-and-forth five-set victory over No. 24 Washburn, extending their win streak to seven matches in the process.
As a result of an impressive start to MIAA play, a pair of Griff tabbed MIAA Athlete of the Week Honors. This marked the first time that Missouri Western has received recognition this season.
The MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week,
Taylor Russell, led Missouri Western's offensive attack with 31 kills on .398 percent hitting through a pair of MIAA season openers. In the Griffs' five-set win over the ranked Ichabods, Russell led all hitters with a season-high 20 kills. She also added nine blocks and a dig on defense.
Nessa Johnson added MIAA Setter of the Week for the second time in her career. The senior averaged 11.25 assists, 2.0 digs and .50 blocks per set through eight sets. Johnson led all MIAA setters with 90 total assists over the weekend, which included a career-high of 60 in the five-set thriller against the Ichabods. She also added 16 digs and four blocks on defense.
MWSU is one of three teams that opened conference play undefeated last weekend, joining UNK and No. 13 Central Oklahoma.
TOP PERFORMERS
Russell has been outstanding on the offensive side of the court, leading the attack with 123 kills at a .265 hitting rate.
Holly Heldt has also been impressive with 120 kills and leads the MIAA with 33 service aces.
Johnson has performed well as a setter this season, with 479 assists (10.41 AVG/S), ranking third in the league. The Gilbert, Iowa native has also recorded 125 digs, 32 kills, and 15 blocks.
Lily Kurz continues to disrupt opposing offenses in the middle. The senior leads the MIAA with 66 blocks (1.47 AVG/S) and has contributed offensively with 80 kills.
Libero
Anna Weberg's 206 digs (4.48 AVG/S) is the fifth-most in the league. She has also provided 33 assists and seven aces so far in her sophomore campaign.
ABOUT THE LOPERS
Nebraska Kearney has earned its top-three national ranking after starting the season 14-0, dropping only one set during the opening stretch. The Lopers began their conference schedule last weekend with a pair of wins over Central Missouri and Missouri Southern on the road. In 2023, they represented the MIAA well in the NCAA Division II Central Regional Championship, where they lost in five sets to eventual winner Wayne State (Neb.) in the semifinal match. Senior Asha Regier leads the team with 123 kills, while senior setter Peyton Neff ranks third in the country with 12.16 assists per set.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
Fort Hays State has had a successful start to the season with a 9-2 record. The Tigers split their conference-opening matches on the road last weekend, winning 3-1 against Missouri Southern before falling to Central Missouri 3-1. They finished last season with an 11-18 (5-15 MIAA) record. Junior Gracie Rains has collected the second-most kills in the MIAA with 179, and Kirsten Evans has the second-most service aces in the league with 24.
