ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – No. 11 Griffon Volleyball opened its 2026 home slate with a statement victory Thursday night, knocking off No. 10 Southwest Minnesota State in four sets, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-21, inside Looney Complex.
MoWest improved to 5-0 on the season with the ranked win, while Southwest Minnesota State fell to 3-1. The Griffons responded after dropping the opening set by taking the next three.
The night also featured program history from
Anna Weberg, who became the Griffons' all-time career digs leader. Weberg entered the match just three digs shy of the record and finished with a match-high 24 digs, moving past Sarah Faubel's previous program record of 1,794 career digs. Weberg also added five assists in the victory.
After hitting just .045 in the opening frame, MoWest found its rhythm offensively as the match progressed. The Griffons hit .300 in the third set and .262 in the fourth, finishing the night with 53 kills and a .175 hitting percentage. MoWest also held Southwest Minnesota State to a .134 clip.
Noelle Sutcliffe led the Griffon attack with a match-high 15 kills, while
Tanith Roush added 12 kills and
Taylor Russell finished with 11. Roush also recorded a solo block and two block assists.
Mackenzie Peters made an impact throughout the match with three kills, three service aces and a team-high seven total blocks, including two solo stops.
Brooklyn Gormley added five total blocks as MoWest totaled 22 block assists and four solo blocks.
Katelyn Diani-O'Day paced the Griffon offense with 26 assists, while
Hayley Barsky added 17. Defensively,
Anna Weberg led MoWest with 24 digs,
Holly Heldt collected 22 and
Summer Anderson added 16.
Up Next
The Griffons return to the court Friday for two matches at the Fairfield Inn Griffon Volleyball Classic. MoWest faces Northern State at 2 p.m. before closing the day against Oklahoma Christian at 7 p.m. inside Looney Complex.
