ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The Missouri Western volleyball team (3-1) will travel to the Great Lake State this weekend for the Hampton Inn and Suites Grand Rapids Downtown Classic. Grand Valley State (Mich.) and Davenport (Mich.) will cohost the invitational.  
 
INFORMATION ON FRIDAY'S MATCHES
Friday's matches will take place at Field House Arena in Allendale, Michigan. The opening match against Saginaw Valley (Mich.) (3-1) will begin at 9:00 a.m. CT and broadcast live on the Grand Valley State Lakers  YouTube page. Friday's finale against No. 19 Grand Valley State (4-0) will occur at 6:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on FloSports. 

MWSU and SVSU will face off for the first time since the five-set final in 2015, which the Cardinals won. The Griffons have only faced the Lakers once in 2017, and GVSU secured a 3-0 victory.
 
INFORMATION ON SATURDAY'S MATCHES
Saturday's matches will occur inside the Davenport Student Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. MWSU will face Davenport (1-3) to open the action at noon CT, and the game will be broadcast live on FloSports. The invite will conclude with a 3:00 p.m. CT game against Tiffin (Ohio) (3-1) on FloSports.

Western swept the Panthers in their first meeting in 2017, and the Griffons will battle the Dragons for the first time on Saturday.
 
OPENING THE SEASON STRONG
Missouri Western began the 2024 season with a 3-1 record at the Oredigger Classic in Golden, Colorado, last weekend. As a result of their success, the Griffons received votes in the most recent AVCA Coaches' Poll.

Sophomores Holly Heldt and Emily Loy finished the four-match stretch with 41 kills each. Heldt added 40 digs, just behind Anna Weberg, who led the team with 45 digs on the weekend, and Nessa Johnson, who collected 41 digs.

Johnson, an All-MIAA Second Team selection last season, finished with 141 assists. 42 of her assists came against Concordia-St. Paul and Concord. The Gilbert, Iowa, native also contributed 14 kills and five digs.

Senior Lily Kurz delivered an impressive defensive performance for Western. She caused havoc in the middle with a conference-leading 19 blocks, averaging 1.36 blocks per set. Meanwhile, senior Taylor Russell contributed 12 blocks on defense and added 31 kills on the offensive side of the court.
 
MATCH ONE: MWSU 2, #5 CSP 3
In the invitation's opening match, MWSU showed great resilience against the fifth-ranked Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears, taking the match to five sets, but ultimately coming up short (25-21, 20-25, 28-26, 20-25, 9-15).

Loy had an outstanding performance, achieving a career-high of 20 kills. Heldt also performed exceptionally well, earning her 17th career double-double with 15 digs and 13 kills. Other notable players included Johnson, who impressively distributed the ball with 42 assists; Weberg, who collected 13 digs; and Kurz, who led the team with five blocks.
 
MATCH TWO: MWSU 3, CSO 0
The Griffons secured their first win of the 2024 season with a 3-0 victory against the host school, Colorado School of Mines (25-17, 25-16, and 25-23).

Russell led the offensive with nine kills, while Kurz contributed an impressive .583 hitting percentage and seven kills. Kurz also made an impact defensively with seven blocks. Johnson led the Griffon offense with 31 assists and topped the team in digs with 14.
 
MATCH THREE: MWSU 3, CU 0
MWSU showcased a well-rounded offensive strategy and strong defense in a resounding victory against Concord (W. Va.) in the first-ever match-up between the two programs (25-16, 25-17, and 25-18).

Heldt was the key player in the offensive attack, securing the most kills in the match with 11. Freshman Mackenzie Peters also had a standout performance in her second college appearance, notching nine kills for the Griffs. Johnson contributed significantly to the team with 42 assists and reached a milestone of 800 digs with 11 in the match. Lia Graham added 10 digs, while Kurz tallied four blocks.

MATCH FOUR: MWSU 3, #13 REGIS 0
The Griffons avenged their 3-1 defeat to then No. 10 Regis in 2018 by delivering a convincing three-set victory to close out the Oredigger Classic. This win marked the fourth time head coach Jessica Fey has successfully toppled a top-25 opponent, with the other three victories coming against her alma mater, Washburn (25-18, 29-27, 25-16).

Heldt led the Griffons with nine kills, 10 digs and five aces. Johnson paced the Griffons offense with a team-leading 26 assists. Defensively, Weberg added 11 digs at libero, and Emma Stalker tallied a match-leading six blocks.