DENVER, Colo. – The 21st ranked Missouri Western volleyball team (5-3) looked to be headed for a 3rd place finish in the Gold Bracket at the Colorado Premier Challenge, but No. 14 Central Missouri (6-2) spoiled the party.

After being swept in the Gold semifinals by No. 8 Southwest Minnesota (5-2), Missouri Western jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Central Missouri before surrendering three straight sets to its MIAA rivals. On the day, Missouri Western hit .149 with its opponents hitting .294. Ali Tauchen and Stephanie Doak each had 27 kills to pace the team. Tauchen added three total blocks to score 28.5 points for MWSU. Doak scored 28. Rachel Losch had a team-high six total blocks. Lauren Murphy had 80 assists and Audrey Keim had 43 digs.

GOLD BRACKET SEMIFINALS
#8 Southwest Minnesota 3, #21 Missouri Western 0 (17-25, 9-25, 22-25)
The Griffons fell victim to maybe the hottest team in the Colorado Premier Challenge field in their first match of the day. Southwest Minnesota held Missouri Western to a .071 hitting percentage in the match and hit .317 itself. Missouri Western looked like it would push the match to a fourth set after taking a 19-15 lead in the third, but the Mustangs answered with a 6-0 run to jump on top 21-19. Missouri Western tied it at 21, but managed just one more point as Southwest Minnesota clinched the sweep with a 25-22 set win.

GOLD BRACKET 3RD PLACE MATCH
#14 Central Missouri 3, #21 Missouri Western 0 (25-21, 26-24, 17-25, 25-27, 6-15)
Missouri Western used some runs to come from behind and claim each of the first two sets. Down 14-8 in the first, MWSU went on a tear to take a 19-17 lead it never surrendered. Tied at 21, Missouri Western scored the final four points to take the set. Missouri Western fell behind again in the second set, 5-0 from the get-go, but slowly chipped away to eventually pull close. A 5-0 spurt late put the Griffons up 22-19, before having to hang on for a 26-24 win. The Griffons hit. 255 in the first and .265 in the second, but dropped to .028 in the third and hit .000 in the fifth. Three Griffons hit double-digit kills in the match. Doak led the team with 19. Tauchen had 18 and Shellby Taylor added 10. Audrey Keim had a career-high 34 digs in the match.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western stays on the road next weekend with a trip to the 2018 Jet Classic hosted by Newman University. The Griffons will play Arkansas-Fort Smith on Friday, Sept. 7 and Newman and St. Edward’s on Saturday, Sept. 8.

— MWSU Athletics —