GOLDEN, Colo. - The Missouri Western volleyball team (1-1) split matches on the opening day of the Oredigger Volleyball Classic on Friday afternoon.
 
MWSU dropped a five-set thriller to No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul (25-21, 20-25, 28-26, 20-25, 9-15), before ending the night on a high note with a three-set sweep over Colorado Mines (25-17, 25-16, 25-23.
 
MATCH 1: MWSU 2, CSP 3
Missouri Western pushed the fifth-ranked Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears to the final whistle in a five-set thriller to kick off the Oredigger Volleyball Classic.
 
MWSU established early momentum in the first set, which consisted of 11 ties and five lead changes. Following the back-and-forth exchange to open the match, the Griffons took control with a six-point lead around the midway following back-to-back kills by Holy Heldt. Emily Loy had an impressive showing in the opening set, hitting .545 with seven kills to help propel the Griffons to the 25-21 set victory.
 
Concordia-St. Paul responded with a 25-20 decision in set two. Sophia Andersen contributed four kills and Teagan Starkey racked up 15 assists for CSP.
 
Very little separated the two teams in the third set, which featured nine ties and five lead changes throughout, with extra points needed to break the deadlock. Down the stretch, Taylor Russell and Loy kept the match alive with clutch kills in set-point situations. Crane secured the 28-26 set victory with a pivotal service ace to put the Griffons back ahead.
 
CSP forced a fifth set after claiming a 25-20 fourth set. Starkey played a key role with 17 assists, finishing with 65 for the entire match. The Golden Bears continued their strong offensive play into the fifth set, winning the set 15-9 and securing the early-season classic.
 
Loy had a breakout match with a career-high of 20 kills. Heldt also shined with her 17th career double-double with 15 digs and 13 kills.
 
Other standout performers included senior setter Nessa Johnson, who efficiently distributed the ball with 42 assists; Anna Weberg, who collected 13 digs; and Lily Kurz, who led the team with five blocks.
 
MATCH 2: MWSU 3, CSM 0
Missouri Western volleyball bounced back with a 3-0 victory to secure its first win of the 2024 season against host school Colorado School of Mines.
 
MWSU started the match strong with a commanding 25-17 win in the first set, never trailing the Orediggers. Kurz and Loy's strong offensive performance helped the offense grow the lead to as many as eight points.
 
The Griffons maintained their momentum in the second set, leading by 10 points in the latter half of the contest following a Lia Graham service ace. Russell performed well with a team-leading four kills after hitting an efficient 429.
 
In the final set, Colorado Mines, led by Taylor Helms, did not give up without a fight, as they forced 13 ties and six lead changes. However, the Griffons managed to hold off the Orediggers late and  to sealed the 25-23 victory.
 
Russell led the offensive attack with nine kills. Kurz added an efficient .583 hitting percentage that included seven kills while also adding a spark defensively with seven blocks. Johnson paced the Griffon offense with a match-leading 31 assists. The Gilbert, Iowa native also led the team in digs with 14.
 
UP NEXT
Western will return to Lockridge Arena tomorrow morning to take on Concord at 11:00 a.m. CT before concluding the weekend against No. 13 Regis at 4:00 p.m. Both matches will be available and free to watch on the RMAC Network.