ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – No. 8 Griffon Volleyball takes its six-match winning streak on the road this weekend for its first MIAA road trip of the season. MoWest travels to Warrensburg to face (RV) Central Missouri on Friday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. before heading to Joplin to take on Missouri Southern on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 3 p.m.
MoWest enters the weekend with a 13-1 overall record and a perfect 3-0 mark in MIAA play. The Griffons have swept six consecutive opponents and won 18 straight sets heading into their first conference road matches of the season.
Six Straight Sweeps
The Griffons have been dominant during their current six-match winning streak, earning six consecutive straight-set victories. The run includes wins over Arkansas Tech, Illinois Springfield and McKendree before MoWest opened MIAA play with three straight sweeps against No. 22 Central Oklahoma, Newman and Northwest Missouri State.
MoWest has yet to drop a set in conference play, winning all nine sets through its first three MIAA matches.
The Griffons closed their 10-match homestand with a dominant sweep of Northwest Missouri State. MoWest hit .356 with 42 kills and just six attack errors while holding the Bearcats to a .000 hitting percentage.
Taylor Russell and Brooklyn Gormley led the attack with eight kills apiece in the victory. Russell hit .500 and added four block assists, while Gormley hit .615 with five block assists. Holly Heldt added seven kills, 12 digs and two service aces, while Anna Weberg led the defense with 14 digs.
Holding at No. 8
Griffon Volleyball enters the weekend ranked No. 8 in the latest AVCA Division II Coaches Poll, marking the third consecutive week MoWest has held its program-best national ranking.
MoWest began the season tied for No. 16 before climbing to a tie for No. 11 and then No. 10. The Griffons reached No. 8 for the first time on Sept. 14 and have remained there for three consecutive polls.
Milestones Continue to Add Up
Several Griffons have reached career milestones during the strong start to the season.
Russell recently joined the 1,000-career kill club, while Heldt has surpassed 1,000 career kills and 150 service aces. Heldt also has more than 1,300 career digs, making her the second player in program history behind Sarah Ekdahl to reach 1,000 kills, 1,300 digs and 150 aces.
Weberg continues to anchor the back row after becoming the program's all-time digs leader earlier this season. She was also named the MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week on Sept. 22.
What's Next
Following the first MIAA road trip of the season, MoWest returns home to Looney Complex for Pink Weekend with a pair of conference matchups. The Griffons host Fort Hays State on Friday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. before welcoming No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney for Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 1 p.m.
Both matches are part of Breast Cancer Awareness – Pink Weekend.
