The Missouri Western volleyball team struggled against 6th ranked Washburn falling 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 26-24) in Topeka, Kan. Western hit .034 with 28 kills as Tahler Johnston led the way with eight kills. Western falls to 5-6 overall and 1-2 in MIAA play.
The high powered Lady Blues jumped out to a 15-10 lead in set one. They kept up the pressure outscoring Western 10-2 on their way to the 25-12 set one victory.
The Griffons hung with the Lady Blues in set two playing the first 20 points even. From there is would be all Lady Blues outscoring the Griffons 15-6 claiming the 25-16 set two victory and 2-0 lead in the match.
After two sets the Griffons had just 15 kills hitting .000. Meredith McCormick had five kills hitting .154 while Shelby Corkill had four. Corkill had eight of the Griffons 23 digs after two sets.
Washburn hit .353 with 31 kills as Korie Thompson, Hillary Hughes and Jessica Fry all collecting six kills. Abby Wittman and Gracie Peterson each had 13 assists.
Western came out of the locker room on fire taking the early 10-3 lead in set three using a 5-0 run off Stephanie Hattey serves. The Lady Blues bounced back going on an 8-0 run taking the 11-10 lead after an Amanda Guess kill. Western regained their composure using a 7-0 run to claim a 17-11 lead. The run was capped off by a block by McCormick and Lindsey Williams.
The Lady Blues responded once again tying the score at 22 before closing the set on a 4-2 run winning the set 26-24 claiming the 3-0 victory. The Lady Blues improve to 11-1 on the season and 4-0 in MIAA play. Washburn hit .270 in the match with 44 kills. Hughes led the charge with nine. WU had 56 digs with Kelsey Lewis collecting 12. Wittman and Peterson finished with 18 and 13 set assists. The Lady Blues had 13 blocks in the match.
Hattey had 20 of the Griffons 26 set assists while Corkill had 12 of the Griffons 42 digs. Corkill finished with seven kills while McCormick had six.
The Griffons will hit the road next weekend to take part in the 2011 Holiday Inn Express & Suites Classic hosted by Texas Women’s University in Denton, Texas on Friday, September 30 and Saturday, October 1. Western opens up play on Friday at 10:00 am against Texas A&M International University.
— MWSU Sports Information —