MWSU volleyball falls in straight sets to No. 5 Washburn

The Missouri Western volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-12, 29-27, 25-20) against the 5th ranked Washburn Lady Blues in MIAA action on Saturday afternoon in the MWSU Fieldhouse. Stephanie Hattey led Western with 31 set assists and 13 digs. The Griffons fall to 12-13 overall and 5-7 in MIAA play.

Western came out of the gates sluggish hitting just .081 with eight kills and five errors on 37 attacks in set one. The Griffons fell in the first set 25-12 against the high powered Lady Blues. Washburn hit .472 with 20 kills in 36 attacks. They had just three errors in the set.

Set two started like the first as the Griffons got down 12-7 after a Jessica Fey kill for Washburn. The Griffons responded nicely going on a 9-4 run tying the score at 16 after a Hannah Zimmerrman kill from Hattey. Both teams went on mini 3-0 runs playing to a tie at 19. The two teams played close the rest of the way and the Griffons took their first lead of the game at 27-26 lead after an Amanda Boender kill but three straight points by Washburn gave them the 29-27 victory and the 2-0 lead in the set.

Western hit .074 in the second set with 14 kills and 28 digs. They also had four blocks in the set. The Lady Blues it .121 with 16 kills and 27 digs in the set.

The Griffons played the Lady Blues close through the first 24 points as the score was tied at 12 early on in set three. From there the Lady Blues used a 5-0 run gaining a 17-12 lead. The two teams played even the rest of the way but Western would fall 25-20. Zimmerman and Shelby Corkill both had eight kills while Sarah Faubel and Tahler Johnston finished with 13 and 10 digs respectively.

Washburn improves to 25-1 overall and 12-0 in MIAA play. Washburn had 49 kills with Breanna Lewis getting 11 and Jessica Kopp and Jessica Fey both recording 10. Abby Wittman had 24 set assists while Kelsey Lewis had 12 digs.

Western will hit the road on Tuesday, November 1when they travel to Maryville, Mo. to take on the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats in Bearcat Arena. Match time is set for 7:00 pm.

— MWSU Sports Information —