ST. JOSEPH – Griffon volleyball (17-9) extended their winning streak to six matches with a 3-1 victory over Lindenwood (15-12) in the MWSU Fieldhouse. Missouri Western clinched its spot in the MIAA postseason tournament and is currently tied with #13 Central Oklahoma for second in the MIAA standings.

ACE OF CHOICE
The service line was Missouri Western’s weapon of attack in the match. MWSU recorded nine service aces in the four set victory, which tied for the most this season. Kayla Ruff led the way with her season best three aces. Amanda Dalbey added two aces and Shellby Taylor recorded her first ace of the season.

NAIL-BITTER
The second set provided free volleyball for the fans in the stands as MWSU fought off two set points to win the set. Facing a potential 2-0 match deficit, Missouri Western fought off the first set point with a Rachel Losch kill to even the score 24-24. Shellby Taylor gave life to the Griffons when they needed it most, down to the second set point 25-24. Taylor smashed a kill to tie the match at 25-25 then served an ace for the next point. The teams traded points to 27-27 before Lauren Murphy and Stephanie Doak both landed kills for the 29-27 set win that evened the match a 1-1

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT
After fighting back to win the second set, MWSU dominated the final two sets. The Griffons hit .333 with only five errors in the last two sets compared to a .170 hitting percentage with 10 errors in the first two sets. Defensively, Missouri Western limited Lindenwood to hit .189 in the third set and .086 in the fourth set.

UP NEXT
The Griffons host #16 Central Missouri on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. in the MWSU Fieldhouse. The match could have a sufficient impact on seeding for the MIAA postseason tournament. With a win, MWSU would move two matches ahead of UCM in the standings with just four matches remaining.

— MWSU Athletics —