ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - No. 8 Griffon Volleyball (16-3, 6-1 MIAA) rallied after losing the first set, but the Griffons ultimately fell in five sets to No. 15 Washburn (19-4, 6-2 MIAA) on Thursday at the MWSU Fieldhouse as part of the MIAA Volleyball Inseason Tournament.
Washburn, who hadn't won in St. Joseph since October 2021, dominated the first set 25-15 before MoWest bounced back to take the second 25-20.
The Griffons had their turn to dominate a set, and so they did, taking the third emphatically 25-15 before Washburn returned the favor in the fourth, 25-17.
MoWest got down 7-2 and then 10-5 in the fifth. After spending both timeouts, the Griffons scored six straight to lead in the fifth 11-10.
The Griffs had match point twice at 14-13 and 15-14, but Washburn scored each of the last three points to take the fifth 17-15.
Emily Loy led MoWest Thursday with a career-best 22 kills.
Tanith Roush had 10, while
Anna Strohmeier set a career mark with eight kills.
Anna Weberg had 29 digs and three ace serves.
Katelyn Diani-O'Day had 33 assists and 11 digs for her seventh double-double this season.
The Griffs finished with 109 digs - ninth most in a single match in program history. MoWest also had eight aces, but were outblocked by Washburn 11-6. The Bods outhit the Griffs .222% - .180%. MoWest committed 26 attacking errors - second most in a match this season.
MoWest stays home to rematch Fort Hays State (14-8, 3-5 MIAA) on Saturday at 2. Hays will play Washburn at the MWSU Fieldhouse first on Friday at 6 p.m.
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