ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The Griffon volleyball team (10-2, 1-0 MIAA) extended its winning streak six in the MIAA opener by sweeping Emporia State (8-2, 0-1 MIAA) at the MWSU Fieldhouse on Friday night. 

With the 3-0 victory, MWSU improved its record against ESU to 53-39-1. Additionally, they extended their wins streak against the Hornets to five straight.
 
Missouri Western continued its momentum from non-conference play with a dominant 3-0 victory over the Hornets to secure its best start since 2015. The set scores were 25-13, 25-10 and 25-23.
 
Western started the match strongly in the opening set. After losing the first point, they took control and never looked back, leading by as much as 12. Emily Loy led the team with five kills, followed by four from Taylor Russell.
 
In set two, the Griffons hit an impressive .429 as a team and used a 12-3 run to extend their lead to 2-0. Loy had another strong showing with six kills, while Nessa Johnson dished out 11 assists.
 
The final set was neck-and-neck until the final whistle. Emporia controlled the pace of play in the early stages of the set and held a three-point advantage at the 20-point mark. However, a kill from senior Lily Kurz sparked a 6-1 run that was capped off with a kill from Russell, securing the set and the match for MWSU.
 
Loy led the offense with a match-leading 14 kills. Russell also reached double-digit kills with 11 and added a match-leading five blocks on the defensive side of the net.
 
Johnson paced the offense from start to finish, ending the match with 30 assists. The senior added eight digs, a pair of blocks and a kill.
 
Missouri Western will face No. 24 Washburn tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. at the MWSU Fieldhouse. Kyle Schmidt will provide play-by-play commentary. The game will be aired on the MIAA Network, the Varsity Network App and GoGriffons.com/listen.