ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Missouri Western volleyball overcame a shaky start in the first set, and proceeded to win the next three sets to defeat No. 7 seed Central Missouri, 3-1, in the MIAA tournament quarterfinals at Civic Arena in St. Joseph Thursday.

The Griffons (23-6) dropped the first set in a close battle, 27-25, but won the second 25-18, the third 28-26 and dominated the fourth, 25-17.

UCM (11-15) used five ace serves in the first set to overcome an early 11-7 deficit and lead the match, 1-0.

"I thought we were shaky at first, playing with a little bit of nerves," Missouri Western coach Jessica Fey said. "It just took us a little bit to settle in. I'm proud of them for finding their footing."

Missouri Western fired back in the second, overcoming a 5-3 deficit and building a 16-11 lead. They rode that momentum and closed out the second, 25-18, to knot the match at 1-1. The Griffs scored the final three points in the second set.

Set three saw UCM jump out to a 5-0 start and then a 16-11 advantage. The Griffons managed to tie it at 21 and forced set point four different times, but Emma Salker's kill ended the frame at 28-26 and gave the Griffs a 2-1 lead in the match.

"That third set, we were down and able to rally back," Fey noted. "The fourth set was the first time I felt comfortable in the entire match."

Set four wasn't quite as close, as MWSU led 18-9 and then scored five straight to lead 23-15. The Griffs eventually took the fourth, 25-17.

Emily Loy finished with a career-high 21 kills on a .415 attack percentage. Taylor Russell had 16 kills, while Holly Heldt had 15 kills and 21 digs. Anna Weberg tallied 20 digs, while setter Nessa Johnson had 53 assists, three total blocks and two ace serves.

The Griffs finished with 82 digs, nine aces and 64 kills in all.

Missouri Western now heads to the MIAA tournament semifinals, where they'll face either No. 3 seed Central Oklahoma or No. 6 seed Emporia State on Friday evening at 5 p.m. The match will be available to stream on the MIAA Network.