TOPEKA, Kan. – No. 11 Griffon Volleyball picked up a big MIAA road victory Friday evening, defeating T-No. 15 Washburn in four sets (22-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-23) inside Lee Arena.
With the victory, MoWest improves to 19-3 overall and 7-1 in MIAA play, while Washburn falls to 19-6 overall and 6-3 in conference action.
The victory also gave the No. 11 Griffons some revenge after falling to Washburn in five sets last week at the MIAA Volleyball In-Season Tournament. MoWest flipped the result in the rematch, winning three straight sets after dropping the opener to secure the four-set road victory.
After dropping the opening set 25-22, the Griffons responded by taking the next three sets. MWSU evened the match with a 25-20 second-set win before dominating the third set 25-15. The Griffons closed out the match with a tightly contested 25-23 victory in the fourth set.
Tanith Roush led the Griffon offense with a match-high 16 kills while hitting an impressive .417 with just one attacking error on 36 attempts. Taylor Russell and Noelle Sutcliffe each added nine kills, while both contributed five block assists.
Defensively, Anna Weberg recorded a team-high 26 digs, while Holly Heldt added 14 and Dakota Hendricks finished with 11.
Mackenzie Peters anchored the Griffons at the net with a match-high 10 total blocks, including two solo blocks and eight block assists. MoWest finished with 15 team blocks compared to Washburn's 10.
In the setting department, Emma Duff dished out 30 assists, while Katelyn Diani-O'Day added 16 assists and a match-high three service aces.
As a team, MWSU finished with 51 kills, 81 digs and seven service aces while holding Washburn to a .093 hitting percentage. The Griffons also produced their most efficient offensive set in the third, hitting .294 with 12 kills and just two errors.
What's Next
Griffon Volleyball will return home to the Looney Complex for a pair of MIAA matchups next weekend. MoWest will host Arkansas-Fort Smith on Friday, Oct. 30, at 6 PM before taking on Northeastern State on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 2 PM.
Saturday's match will also serve as Senior Day for the Griffons.
