KEARNEY, Neb. – Griffon volleyball (24-10) fell in its first ever MIAA Championship final 3-1 to No. 7 Nebraska Kearney (33-3). The loss snaps MWSU’s 13 match winning streak, the longest since 1987.

SURVIVAL BY RALLY
In the second set, Missouri Western faced a 24-21 deficit and trailed 1-0 in the match. The Griffons fought off back-to-back set points and rallied for five straight points to win the set. Kills by Shellby Taylor started and finished off the rally to win the set.

TURNING POINT
The third set saw the Griffons lead 6-0 early and 24-21 late. However, the Lopers rallied off three consecutive points late in the set. UNK had to fight off set point four different times before finally winning the decisive set 29-27.

SPARK OFF THE BENCH
For the second match in a week, Erin Erb came off the bench for career nights. Erb had a career-high 16 kills in the match against the Lopers. In MWSU’s win against UNK on Nov. 11, she came off the bench for a then career-best 14 kills.

BEST SEASON
Missouri Western’s 2017 season is one for the record books as it won the most matches since 1997. The Griffons claimed a share of the conference regular season title for the first time since 1987. MWSU set new program records for digs (2,264) and assists (1,597) in a single season. MWSU also knocked off four ranked opponents. For head coach Marian Carbin, the season allowed her to win her 100th career match and lead her alma mater to 16 conference wins for the second time in her career and program history.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western awaits its NCAA Tournament fate to be announced on Monday, Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m. central time. Eight teams make the Central Region and the Griffons were ninth in the NCAA Central Region rankings on Nov. 15.

— MWSU Athletics —