DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – No. 16 Griffon Volleyball opened the 2026 season with a perfect Friday at the Bahama House Classic, picking up victories over St. Edward's and host Embry-Riddle inside the ICI Center.
MoWest opened the day with a straight-set victory over St. Edward's before closing the night with a 3-1 win over Embry-Riddle, improving to 2-0 on the season.
Match One: MoWest 3, St. Edward's 0
The Griffons started the season with a sweep of St. Edward's, winning by set scores of 25-17, 25-16 and 25-18.
Noelle Sutcliffe led the Griffon attack with eight kills, while Holly Heldt added seven and Taylor Russell finished with six.
Mackenzie Peters controlled the net with nine blocks, while Russell added four and Sutcliffe finished with three.
Emma Duff paced the offense with 13 assists, followed by Hayley Barsky with 11. Barsky and Heldt each recorded three service aces, while Duff added two.
Anna Weberg led the Griffon defense with 13 digs, followed by Heldt with six and Barsky with five.
Match Two: MoWest 3, Embry-Riddle 1
MoWest closed opening day by taking down tournament host Embry-Riddle in four sets, 22-25, 25-18, 26-24 and 25-15.
After dropping the opening set, the Griffons responded by taking the next three. MoWest evened the match with a 25-18 victory in the second before battling out a 26-24 win in the third. The Griffons then closed the match with a dominant 25-15 fourth set.
Tanith Roush powered the Griffon attack with a team-high 15 kills while hitting .353 and adding six blocks. Russell and Heldt each recorded nine kills, with Russell hitting .348 and adding six blocks.
Peters once again led MoWest at the net, finishing with 11 blocks and three kills.
Barsky directed the offense with 25 assists and added 10 digs for a double-double. Duff chipped in 10 assists, while Katelyn Diani-O'Day recorded five.
Weberg anchored the defense with a team-high 20 digs, while Barsky added 10 and Heldt finished with nine. Heldt also recorded two service aces.
The Griffons finished the match with 48 kills, 47 assists, 61 digs and a .252 hitting percentage.
Up Next
MoWest returns to the court Saturday for two more matches at the Bahama House Classic. The Griffons face Florida Southern at 10:30 a.m. CT before closing the tournament against Florida Tech at 3:30 p.m. CT.
