MARYVILLE, Mo. — No. 24 Griffon Volleyball stayed red-hot on Friday evening, sweeping Northwest Missouri State (25-19, 25-19, 25-18) inside Bearcat Arena for its seventh straight victory and a clean regular-season sweep of the Bearcats.
MoWest (16-5, 8-2 MIAA) was dominant at the net, hitting .294 as a team while limiting Northwest (8-11, 2-8 MIAA) to a .191 mark. The Griffons tallied 41 kills to the Bearcats' 36 and controlled the service line with 10 services aces.
Northwest Missouri State started the first set jumping ahead 3-0 before MoWest rallied to even the score at 11-11. The Bearcats briefly regained a one-point edge at 15-14, but the Griffons responded with a 5-0 run to take control late. MoWest maintained its momentum to close out the set, 25-19.
The second set followed a familiar script as Northwest jumped out to a 3-0 lead. MoWest quickly responded with a 6-0 run to take a 6-3 advantage before both sides traded points through the middle stages. The Bearcats surged ahead 14-9, but the Griffons answered again. This time with six straight points to regain control at 15-14. Holding a narrow 21-19 edge late, MoWest's balanced offense and composure at the net sealed the set, 25-19.
It was all Griffons in the third set. After going down 2-1, MoWest never trailed again and won the set 25-18 to complete the sweep.
MoWest's attack was led by
Noelle Sutcliffe, who delivered 14 kills on a .483 hitting percentage, while
Taylor Russell followed closely with 12 kills on .458 hitting.
Trista Marx added five kills to round out the Griffons' top three scorers.
Katelyn Diani-O'Day set the tempo with a team-high 29 assists, and
Anna Weberg turned in a standout all-around effort with 17 digs and four service aces.
What's Next
MoWest Volleyball returns to the Looney Complex for its final home stretch of the regular season. The Griffons open the weekend on Friday, Oct. 31, hosting No. 2 Washburn at 6 p.m. in a pivotal MIAA matchup. They'll wrap up their home slate on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 6 p.m. against No. 25 Emporia State for Senior Day and Epilepsy Awareness Month before finishing the regular season on the road.
