Missouri Western Volleyball lost to Upper Iowa, its first of two matches on Saturday.
The Griffons fell to the Peacocks in three sets (26-24, 25-16, 25-23) and sit at 5-2 so far this season.
MWSU didn’t trail in the first set until Upper Iowa went on a rally to score the final four points and take the first set 26-24. The Griffons led by four points three different times but could never close as Upper Iowa came back each time.
Upper Iowa stayed strong in the second set, defeating MWSU 25-16 to take the 2-0 advantage. The third game remained close throughout, as the game went to a 23-23 tie. Melanie Behnke scored the final two points to take the set and seal the victory 3-0 for the Peacocks.
The Griffons were led by Jessie Throup, who finished the match with 11 kills. Holly Pollock tallied 11 digs to lead the Griffons, and Stephanie Hattey finished with 23 assists.
Missouri Western 3, Missouri-St. Louis 1
The Griffons had better luck in their second match of the evening, defeating Missouri-St. Louis 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 22-25, 25-18).
MWSU took both of the first two games 25-21. The Griffons used Amanda Boender to secure the first set as Kelly Scannell, who finished the match with a game-high 31 assists, set Boender up for the kill.
MWSU and UMSL battled closely in the next set it was tied at 14. The Griffons steadily pulled away, and scored the final two points to take a 2-0 lead.
The Tritons trailed early in the third set but used a nice four-point rally in the middle to go ahead 17-13. They eventually won 25-22 to put the game into a fourth set.
Missouri Western ended the match with another set victory. It was close as the Griffons had a slim 15-13 lead before they pulled away, winning 10 out of the next 15 points to win the final game of the Middle of Everywhere Classic. Sarah Faubel helped the Griffons pull away, scoring four straight points to give the Griffons a 24-17 lead before a service error and then an attack error ended the game.
Up Next: The Griffons play their first home match of the season, taking on Northwest Missouri State at 7 p.m. Tuesday night.
— MWSU Sports Information —