BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The Missouri Western volleyball team began the 2015 season with a pair of losses at the Ferris State Invitational, losing 3-2 to Saginaw Valley State Friday morning and 3-1 to Ferris State in the evening match.

MATCH 2: Ferris State 3, Missouri Western 1
Missouri Western had a rough day on the attack, hitting just .067 for the match with two players registering negative hitting percentages. Jessie Thorup led the attack with 11 kills, giving her 23 for the day. Those 11 kame on 43 attempts with five errors. In total, the Griffons had 26 attack errors.

Jordan Chohon had 21 assists and Kayla Ruff finished the match with 21 digs, while Amanda Dalbey had 11.

MATCH 1: Saginaw Valley State 3, Missouri Western 2
The team began the day with a loss in five sets to Saginaw Valley State, Friday morning.

The two teams traded sets after Missouri Western took the first with Saginaw Valley forcing the fifth set with a 26-24 win in set four. The Griffons rallied after trailing by six several times in the fourth set, including being down 24-22. Saginaw Valley controlled the fifth set, winning 15-10 to drop MWSU to 0-1 on the year.

MWSU hit .203 as a team with just three total team blocks while allowing Sagniaw Valley to hit .244 and rack up 11 total team blocks. Shellby Taylor and Jessie Thorup each finished with 14 kills but Taylor’s came with zero attack errors for a .467 hitting percentage. Rachel Friedrichs had 12 kills for the Griffons. Jordan Chohon picked up where she left off in 2014 with 47 assists for the Griffons.

— MWSU Athletics —