MARSHALL, Minn. – Griffon volleyball (25-10) earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament win on Thursday, knocking out No. 6-ranked Nebraska Kearney (33-4) in the central region quarterfinals 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-17, 25-22).
Sixth-seeded Missouri Western took the first set along with the third and fourth to win for the 14th time in the team’s last 15 matches. The Griffons advanced to the NCAA Central Region semifinals on Friday against No. 3-ranked and defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul (29-3).
FIRST SET RALLY
Missouri Western trailed 6-1 to open the first set and fell down 10-5 before rallying to take its first lead of the set, 14-13. The Griffons then took control of the set, getting it all the way to a 23-17 lead before eventually winning the set 25-21. The Griffons hit .324 in the set while No. 3-seed Nebraska Kearney hit .261.
FOUR IN DOUBLE-FIGURES FOR THE WIN
Stephanie Doak (14), Shellby Taylor (13), Ali Tauchen (11), Mikayla Sellers-Wiebe (10) and Rachel Losch (10) gave the Griffons four players with double-digit kills. It’s proved to be a recipe for success this season with MWSU improving to 13-2 on the year when four players have 10 or more kills.
BACK-AND-FORTH, FOURTH
The fourth set featured 13 ties and five lead changes. Neither team led by more than two in the set until Missouri Western took an 18-15 lead. After MWSU took a 21-18 lead, UNK got it to 21-20 before Missouri Western eventually took the set 25-22 on a kill by Sellers-Wiebe. Missouri Western hit .250 in the set with the Lopers hitting .282. The fourth set win and match victory improved the Griffons to 13-0 this season when they win the fourth.
IT’S THE LAST ONE THAT COUNTS
A new rivalry was born this season as Missouri Western and Nebraska Kearney faced off four times, each time with significance in the context of the teams’ seasons. After losing in three sets in Kearney on Oct. 7, Missouri Western won its next 13 matches, including a 3-1 win over the Lopers in the regular season finale. That win forced the Lopers to share the MIAA regular season championship with Missouri Western. The third matchup between the teams came in the MIAA Championship final on Nov. 18, both teams’ last match prior to Thursday’s regional opener. UNK won that match 3-1 to claim the MIAA postseason title. The teams each won two in the series this season, with three of the four ending after the fourth set. The final three matches between the two teams were all played in the last four weeks.
REMEMBER WHEN
After a 3-1 loss at then No. 15-ranked Central Missouri on Sept. 23, Missouri Western was 7-8. Since that point, the Griffons went 18-2, including the 13-match win streak. The only two losses in the Griffons’ last 20 matches came to Nebraska Kearney. During the 18-2 run, the Griffons faced a ranked opponent seven times, winning five of them.
SEMIFINAL PREVIEW
Missouri Western will play its fourth-straight match against a ranked opponent on Friday when the Griffons take on No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul at 5 p.m. The No. 2-seeded Golden Bears ended Central Oklahoma’s season in three sets on Thursday. Concordia had its own 13-match win streak ended in the NSIC tournament final, losing in three sets to Southwest Minnesota State. Concordia won the 2016 NCAA Division II national championship, its first since winning seven-straight between 2007 and 2013.
— MWSU Athletics —