ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The Missouri Western volleyball team (9-2) will finally play at home this weekend as they open conference play against Emporia State (8-2) and No. 24 Washburn (9-1) at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

Action against the Hornets will occur on Friday at 6:00 p.m., and the weekend will conclude with a match against the Ichabods on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.

Friday night will be 'Sunshine Bags Night.' Fans are encouraged to wear gold and contribute items that are yellow or gold. The items will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House of Kansas City to bring joy to families facing challenging times. For more information, visit https://www.volunteermark.com/rmhc-kc/sunshine-bags.
 
Saturday night will be 'Residential Life Night'. The match will have a USA/America theme, as fans are encouraged to dress in red, white and blue attire. 
 
The pregame coverage will start at 5:45 p.m. on both nights on The Varsity Network app and at GoGriffons.com/listen. Tommy Rezac will be the play-by-play commentator for the game against Emporia State, and Kyle Schmidt of the St. Joseph News-Press will be the voice for the match against Washburn.
 
BUY TICKETS
Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance to skip the lines and save money. Tickets can be bought online through the Griffon Box Office or the HomeTown Ticketing Fan App. On game days, tickets will also be available at the Spratt Stadium ticket office.
 
WATCH ONLINE - MIAA NETWORK
All MIAA football, women's soccer, volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball, baseball and softball regular season conference games will be streamed live on the MIAA Network. The MIAA Network showcased over 1,500 live broadcasts for its 14 member schools last season. For more information, visit https://www.themiaanetwork.com/.
 
LISTEN - VARSITY NETWORK APP & GoGriffons.com/listen
Live streams of Missouri Western athletics are now available on The Varsity Network app. All home and away football and men's and women's basketball games will be available to listen to for free on Varsity and at GoGriffons.com/listen. Available on iPhone and Android, fans can access free audio streams for game days on the Varsity Network App. Fans can also receive push notifications as reminders for upcoming games and broadcasts. Once you download The Varsity Network app, search 'Missouri Western' and select which Griffon teams you want to follow. For more information on The Varsity Network and how to listen to the Griffons, click here. Audio broadcasts can also be found at GoGriffons.com/listen. Audio broadcasts will also be archived at GoGriffons.com/listen in the 'On Demand' section, and on the Griffon Sports Insider Podcast, which is available on Spotify, Apple and wherever you podcast.
 
CLIMBING THE RANKS
The Griffons have achieved their best start under head coach Jessica Fey following a 9-2 record in non-conference play. This is also the program's strongest start since 2015 when they opened the season 10-2.
 
MWSU is currently receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches' Poll because of its successful season-opening stretch. During this stretch, the team has only lost matches to ranked opponents and rallied for five consecutive wins.
 
The MIAA currently has three teams in the top 25 polls: No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney, No. 13 Central Oklahoma and No. 24 Washburn.
 
STAT LEADERS
Sophomore Holly Heldt has excelled offensively, leading the team with 96 kills, including a remarkable "kick kill" against Oklahoma Baptist. The Hermann native has also delivered 29 service aces, leading the conference and ranking fifth in the country.
 
Setter Nessa Johnson enters the weekend with 389 assists, the fourth most in the MIAA and 32nd most in all of NCAA Division II. In addition, the senior has accumulated 109 digs and 29 kills.
 
Lily Kurz has been effective in the middle with 52.0 total blocks this season, just one short of the most in the league. The senior achieved her 250th career block last week against Southern Nazarene.
 
Libero Anna Weberg has had a solid start to the season with 172 digs. The Omaha, Nebraska native achieved a season-high of 36 digs last weekend against Oklahoma Baptist.
 
HISTORY AGAINST ESU
The two teams have met 92 times since 1976, and MWSU currently leads the series with 52 wins, 39 losses and one tie against ESU. Heading into the upcoming match, Western has won seven of the last eight matches. Last season, the Griffons claimed a season sweep with a 3-0 win in Emporia and a 3-1 win in St. Joseph.
 
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State finished in eighth place in the 2023 MIAA standings with a 13-16 (7-13 MIAA) record and was predicted to finish in eighth place with 49 points in the 2024 MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
ESU has started the season strong with an 8-2 record in non-conference play. A significant win for the Hornets was against Winona State, a team that was receiving votes at the time of the match up.
 
HISTORY AGAINST WU
The two programs have met 90 times dating back to 1976, with MWSU holding a 48-42 series advantage. The Griffons head into the match up on a four-match winning streak over the Ichabods. In 2023, they claimed a 3-0 win on the road, a 3-2 win at home and a 3-1 win at the MIAA volleyball tournament.
 
ABOUT THE ICHABODS
Washburn finished fifth in the conference standings in 2023 with a 17-11 (11-9 MIAA) record last season and was picked fourth with 90 points in the 2024 MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
The Ichabods are riding a three-match winning streak heading into Saturday's showdown. Their lone blemish this season was a five-set thriller against Texas A&M—Kingsville at the Mountaineer Volleyball Classic.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Missouri Western finished the non-conference invitational schedule with a flawless 3-0 record against regional opponents and extended its win streak to five at the SNU/UCO Invite in Oklahoma.
 
The Griffon volleyball team began the invite with victories over Southwestern Oklahoma State and Oklahoma Baptist, including an impressive 25-1 set win over the Bison. The second win was a dominant sweep over host Southern Nazarene.
 
MATCH 1: MWSU 3, SWOSU 1
Western opened its final invitational of the season with a 3-1 victory over Southwestern Oklahoma State with set scores of 25-20, 25-27, 25-21 and 25-19.
 
The Griffons got off to a fast start in the opening set with an early 7-1 run and never surrendered their lead. They led by as many as nine points and halted a late comeback bid from SWOSU to claim the set, 25-20.
 
The Bulldogs controlled the court early in the second set, leading by as many as nine and reaching 20 with a five-point advantage. MWSU did not go away quietly after tying the match at 24-24 with a 4-0 run to force extra points. However, back-to-back kills from Lacy Mott helped propel SWOSU to the 27-25 final.
 
MWSU initially had the upper hand in the third, setting the tone with a 9-0 run. Southwestern narrowed the Western lead to three with a 4-0 run, prompting the Griffs to call a timeout to regroup. Taylor Russell sealed the set with a big kill, securing a 25-21 victory.
 
The fourth and final set included four tied scores and one lead change. Following a timeout by Missouri Western after Southwestern Oklahoma cut the deficit to only two at 15-13, the Griffons flipped the switch down the stretch to claim the match with a 25-19 set victory.
 
Freshman Noelle Sutcliffe had a breakout match for the Griffons. The Norwalk, Iowa native finished with a match-leading and season-high 15 kills. Russell tabbed the second-most kills on the team with 11.
 
Johnson collected her third double-double of the season, finishing the match with 44 assists and 14 digs.
 
Weberg and Lia Graham added strong defensive showings with 16 digs apiece, while senior Kurz anchored the middle with a season-high 10 blocks.
 
MATCH 2: MWSU 3, OBU 1
After dropping the opening set, Missouri Western hit another gear against Oklahoma Baptist to claim the second match of the afternoon with set scores of 23-25, 25-8, 25-18 and 25-1.
 
The opening set was closely contested, with 11 ties and four lead changes. Oklahoma Baptist capitalized on a pair of Griffon errors in the final four serves to win the set, 25-23.
 
Missouri Western rebounded with a commanding 25-8 victory, the largest margin of victory in a set over an opponent this season at that point. They led by as many as 17 points and had two separate 9-0 runs.
 
The Griffons maintained momentum in the fourth set, which saw four ties and two lead changes. MWSU gained an early advantage with a 5-0 run, but OBU steadily closed the gap as the set progressed. At the midway point, the Griffons managed to pull ahead and clinch a 25-18 victory.
 
Set four will be remembered as one of the greatest sets in Missouri Western volleyball history, if not the greatest. The Griffons opened the set with a 4-0 run before the Bison notched their first and only point of the match. Heldt was responsible for serve duty for the remainder of the set, as they finished the match on an unprecedented 21-0 run.
 
Johnson paced the Western offense with 42 assists and 19 digs to secure back-to-back double-doubles on the afternoon.
 
Russell recorded a season-high 19 kills to lead the offense, while Emily Loy added 13 kills of her own.
 
Weberg achieved a career-high 36 digs and Heldt contributed 22 digs herself in a dominant defensive display.
 
MATCH 3: MWSU 3, SNU 0
Missouri Western controlled the court from the opening set against Southern Nazarene, securing the match with set scores of 25-12, 25-15 and 25-10.
 
In the first set, MWSU had a dominant 25-12 victory with a .500 hitting percentage and 12 kills. They took control from the start, leading by as many as 13 points and finishing the set with a 6-1 run. Heldt led the offense with four kills
 
In the second set, Southern Nazarene started strong with a 5-1 run. However, Western quickly found their rhythm and tied the score at 9-9 before taking the lead. They finished the set with a 6-0 run to secure a 2-0 advantage.
 
Western achieved its sixth sweep of the season with their best set of the afternoon, winning 25-10 in the third. They led by as many as 15 points in the set and did not trail at any point. Loy led the offense with four kills, and Johnson provided eight assists.