ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Griffon Volleyball (9-5, 1-2 MIAA) lost a heartbreaker to No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney on Friday, 3-2, in the home opening match at Tom Smith Court inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

MoWest, who's now lost 15 straight to the Lopers dating back to 2018, got off to a strong start in set one, leading 23-18, but UNK (16-0, 3-0 MIAA) rallied and won the first, 32-30. The Griffons had set point on five occasions in the first.

The Griffons bounced back, though, jumping out to a 16-9 lead in the second set and taking it 25-22.

MoWest never trailed in the third, getting off to an 11-7 start and winning that one, 25-22.

It appeared the fourth set would end in similar fashion, with MoWest leading 16-9 to start, but Nebraska-Kearney went on an 8-3 to run to pull it to within 19-17. MoWest led 23-20 later in the fourth, but the Lopers scored four straight to draw set point and take the fourth, 27-25.

MoWest never led in the fifth, trailing 5-1 to start. The Griffs got it to within 10-9 and 14-13, but came up just short in the end with UNK's Brynn Stowell scoring the final point on her match-high 26^th kill.

Emma Salker led the way for MoWest with a career-high 18 kills. She also had six digs and six block assists. Noelle Sutcliffe turned in 13 kills, while Emily Loy had 12 and Taylor Russell had 10.

Trista Marx, a UNK transfer, had 11 kills and a team-best three solo blocks. Lia Graham tied a career-high with a season-best 27 digs.

Katelyn Diani-O'Day doled out a season-best 36 assists, while Hayley Barsky had 23.

MoWest is right back at it on Saturday to face Fort Hays State (13-2, 2-1 MIAA). That match is set to start at 1 p.m. at MWSU Fieldhouse.

The match will be broadcast live on the MIAA Network and the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen).