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Author: Dave Riggert

Northwest volleyball rallies past Southern in five sets

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The Northwest Missouri State University women’s volleyball team picked up a thrilling 3-2 win over the Missouri Southern Lions (4-18, 2-8 MIAA) Saturday night at Bearcat Arena.

Northwest (10-12, 4-5 MIAA) battled all night and momentum continued to shift to both sides before the Bearcats pulled out the five set victory.

The Bearcats rolled through the first set before the Lions took sets two and three.  Northwest closed out the match winning, 25-19, 19-25, 26-28, 25-18, and 15-12.

The Bearcats rolled in the fourth set after an unforced Missouri Southern error swung the momentum in Northwest’s favor.

Northwest was behind early in the fifth set but evened the score at 6-6 with an Alex Hanna kill.  The Lions would remain within a point or two until Laira Akin hammered down the match point.

Senior Laira Akin recorded a season-high 58 assists and 15 digs to record her 12th double-double of the season.

Abby Graves continued to knock down kills with a team high 22, a season high, and added 15 digs to record her 5th double-double of the season.

Tori Beckman led the defense recording 25 digs.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

MWSU soccer continues to struggle with 4-0 loss at Fort Hays

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The Missouri Western soccer team found shots hard to come by in Hays as they fell 4-0 in MIAA road action against Fort Hays State University. Western falls to 3-9 overall and 0-6 in MIAA action.

Western struggled in the first half accumulating just two shots with Abby Widrig and Sadie Naumann each taking one. Kelly Voigts made three saves for the Griffons in goal.

The home team Tigers controlled play in the first frame taking 10 shots with five on goal. Fort Hays took the lead in the 37th minute when Cindy Benitez scored her fifth goal of the season. The Tigers kept up the pressure as Becca Andres put FHSU up 2-0 off an assist by Benitez at the 39th minute of play.

Western continued their struggles into the second half as the Tigers scored twice on their first three shots. Benitez scored her sixth goal of the season on a free kick in the 54th minute and then Benitez gave an assists to Joanne Glynn in the 56th minute putting the Tigers up 4-0. For Glynn it marked her 8th goal of the season.

Western finished with five shots as Teddi Serna and Katie Kemph each had a shot on goal. Voigts made six saves for the Griffons.

The Tigers improve to 5-10 overall and 2-6 in MIAA play as they finished with 21 shots with nine on goal. Kelsey Grey picked up the victory making one save. Benitez finished with seven shots with four on goal. She scored two goals and had two assists.

Western will return home for the first of their final two home games of the season on Thursday, October 27 when they take on the Washburn Lady Blues at 7:00 pm in Spratt Stadium.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Nebraska cruises to easy win at Minnesota

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Nebraska piled up the yards like Tom Osborne’s teams from back in the day, and all coach Bo Pelini could think about was how much better Rex Burkhead and Co. could have been.

The demanding coach sees the potential in these Huskers, and Pelini wasn’t about to be satisfied with a dominant victory against an overmatched opponent.

Burkhead rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown and No. 13 Nebraska racked up 346 yards on the ground in a 41-14 victory over Minnesota on Saturday.

“We had a lot of yards,” Pelini said with a shrug. “I thought there was a lot of things we needed to get cleaned up. I would give us probably somewhere around a ‘B’ in how we played in the run game.”

The Huskers (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) took over TCF Bank Stadium in their first trip to the Twin Cities since 1989. More than two-thirds of the stadium was filled with red-clad Nebraska backers, and they had plenty to cheer about.

Taylor Martinez threw for 162 yards and a touchdown and Austin Cassidy returned a fumble for another score in the Huskers’ first game since losing star defensive tackle Jared Crick to a season-ending injury.

“When you shut a team out in the first half, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing, it feels good,” Cassidy said.

MarQueis Gray was 9 for 18 for 122 yards for the Golden Gophers (1-6, 0-3), including just 2 for 8 for 9 yards in the first two quarters. Minnesota has been outscored 144-31 in three Big Ten games this season, including a 58-0 loss at Michigan and a 45-17 defeat at Purdue.

After Bill Callahan tried to bring more of a pro-style offense to Lincoln, Pelini has returned the Huskers to their power-running roots that made them perennial title contenders under Osborne. Martinez chipped in 52 and Kenny Bell added an 82-yard reverse for a score.

The woeful Gophers defense managed to hold Nebraska to a couple of field goals deep in their own territory early in the game. But the Huskers eventually got their high-powered ground game going.

Nebraska scored its first touchdown thanks to a bizarre play on fourth-and-1 from the Minnesota 13. The Gophers collapsed the line on the option dive, so Martinez pulled it and pitched it left to Aaron Green. The pitch was high and Green couldn’t handle it, but he knocked the ball forward and it landed out of bounds ahead of the first down marker.

After a short conference, the officials spotted the ball there because it was a backward pass, therefore marking it where it landed out of bounds, and not where the muff occurred.

Minnesota coach Jerry Kill protested vehemently, but to no avail.

“I didn’t understand the rule myself,” Pelini said.

Martinez hit Tyler Legate for a 10-yard TD pass two plays later to make it 10-0.

That seemed to suck the life out of the heavy underdogs. Bell scored on his reverse on the next drive and Cassidy returned Gray’s fumble 11 yards to make it 27-0 with under 10 minutes to play in the first half.

“I think we’re getting used to what type of offense we are and what we’re going to become,” Martinez said. “I think we’re doing a great job.”

Burkhead’s 4-yard touchdown dive right before halftime made it 34-0, but Pelini will have plenty of things to point out on film to keep his players from getting too confident.

Nebraska twice had to settle for field goals in the first half after driving inside the Minnesota 5, once because of a bad pitch from Martinez to Burkhead that went for a loss of 7 yards and once when Burkhead was stuffed by cornerback Kyle Henderson on an option pitch to the right.

And the few times Martinez tried to throw the ball down the field, the passes were rarely close to the intended receivers. Two good ones were dropped by Bell and Jamal Turner.

“We had some repeat errors and didn’t get some hats on hats,” Pelini said. “I’ll put it this way, we left a lot of big plays out there today.”

The one bright spot for the Gophers offense came in the third quarter, when Gray hit Da’Jon McKnight on a 53-yard pass off of a double-reverse flea flicker to set up Gray’s 1-yard TD run. The score snapped a streak of 145 straight points for the Huskers in the series against Minnesota. The Huskers won 56-0 in 1990 and 48-0 in 1989.

“We have no room for error and we certainly don’t need to help anybody (with mistakes),” Kill said. “We can’t overcome that.”

— Associated Press —

Northwest’s Adams win MIAA cross country title

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Northwest Missouri State University’s senior standout Angela Adams was crowned MIAA champion Saturday morning at the 2011 MIAA Cross Country Championships on the campus of Missouri Southern.

Adams finished the 6k with a time of 21:00.68, a personal best.  Katti Carroll would be next to cross the line for Northwest in fifth place with a time of 21:30.94.

Pittsburg State University was crowned the 2011 MIAA women’s team champions as Northwest finished fifth.

Also competing for the Bearcat women today were Katti Carroll who also placed in the top 10 with a fifth place finish. Behind Carroll was Heidi Johnson who covered the course 22:42.34 for a 25th-place finish. Jordan Esry, Brittany Poole, Hanna Speaks, Tasha Sherman, Amanda Cushing, Anne Herbert and Megan Jacobsen also competed at the Championships in Joplin.

TR Pursell paced the Bearcat men’s team to a second place finish.  Pursell crossed the line in fifth place with a time of 24:24.27, a personal best.

Central Missouri’s Laban Sialo was the men’s champion finishing the 8k with a time of 23:17.88.

The men’s runner-up finish totaled a combined score of 73. They were 20 points behind champion Central Missouri which totaled 53 points.

Also competing for the Northwest men today were Ryan Darling, Zach Layton, Jacob Henry, Drew Keefer, Jared Walker, Kit Anderson, David Nilges, Clay Martin, and Kyle Schmitz.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

NWMSU soccer downs Lindenwood, 1-0

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The Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats (9-4-2, 5-2 MIAA) defeated future MIAA foe Lindenwood 1-0 Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Pitch in the Bearcats’ final home game of 2011.

The first half was a battle with a combined 15 fouls called.  Northwest would strike first in the 30th minute, when Amanda Bundrant found senior Hannah Silvey.  Silvey hammered the ball past Lindenwood (8-5-2) goalie Whitney Calvin to put the Bearcats up 1-0.  That would be the only goal of the first half as Northwest went into halftime up 1-0.

For the half, the Bearcats outshot the Lady Lions 14-5 and held a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks.

The second half started out very similar to the first, with both teams clamping down on defense.  Neither team was able to find the net in the second half.

The 15 fouls called on the Bearcats in the match was a season high for the Northwest surpassing their previous high of 13 fouls called against Fort Hays State on Oct. 15.  A combined total of 28 fouls were called in the match, another season high for Northwest.

For the match, the Bearcats outshot the Lady Lions 25-10.

The goal by Silvey in the first half was her second of the season and upped her career total to three.

Bearcats’ goalkeeper Kelsey Adams collected four saves in the win upping her season total to 99.

Lindenwood goalie Whitney Calvin recorded thirteen saves in the loss.

In all, five seniors played their final home game for the Bearcats Saturday.  Midfielder Hannah Silvey, forward Tammie Eiberger, midfielder Kelly Obley, defender Jacque Dedovesh, and forward Erica Hatcher all stepped onto Bearcat Pitch for their final time Saturday.  Also recognized was senior student assistant Lindsay Beckman.\

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Missouri State beat Western Illinois for first win

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Four second-half take-aways propelled Missouri State (1-7, 1-4) to a 31-17 win over Western Illinois here Saturday in Missouri Valley Football Conference play. The win snapped an eight-game Hanson Field winning streak by the Leathernecks and secured MSU’s first win of 2011.

The final nail in the coffin came with 2:15 to play when senior Jimmie Strong halted a threatening WIU drive with a 91-yard interception return for a touchdown, the longest in Bears’ history. The pick six came on the heels of a 54-yard pass completion to Charles Chestnut that set the home club up at the MSU 9 for the potential game-tying score.

MSU closed out the game with a fumble recovery on WIU’s fourth turnover of the final period.

Trevor Wooden completed 8-of-16 passes for 190 yards for the Bears who won on the road for the first time in 13 tries and also posted a game-high 82 rushing yards. Jermaine Saffold caught four passes for 138 yards and a touchdown, coming just two yards shy of becoming MSU’s all-time receiving yards leader.

The Leathernecks got 269 passing yards by Josh Hudson who was 20-for-34 with a pair of interceptions. Terriun Crump had seven receptions for 67 yards to lead WIU, while Kevin Palermo posted a game-high 14 tackles.

With 7:56 to go in the third, the Bears extended their 14-10 halftime lead on a 19-yard field goal by Austin Witmer to overcome a pair of first-half misses by the sophomore. The score was set up by a 57-yard pass from Wooden to Saffold to the WIU two-yard line just three players earlier. The Bears could not punch it into the end zone, but settled for the chip-shot FG to go up by seven.

The lead didn’t last long as WIU got 33 yards on the ensuing kickoff to its own 38. Six plays later, Josh Hudson found Larry Patterson wide open on the far sideline for Patterson’s second catch of the season. He bolted to the end zone for his second score of the night to tie the game 17-17 after the Pat Smith PAT with 5:21 on the clock.

Feeling the opportunity for their first victory of the year, the Bears used the momentum of a 50-yard completion from Wooden to Saffold to set up the go-ahead score on the ensuing drive.  The key play was a third-and-two at the WIU 27 when Stephen Johnston took the hand off and completed a short pass to quarterback to Wooden who was tackled shy of the first down. However, Johnston was hit late, forcing a roughing the passer flag from the officials and a Bears’ first down. WIU’s bench protested the call and ultimately drew an unsportsmanlike conduct  flag to move the ball to the WIU 7.  The Bears’ third-and-goal play from the 10 was a pass intended for Ian Starnes in the end zone, but WIU was whistled for pass interference to set up another automatic first down at the two. Two plays later Johnston punched it in to put the Bears up 24-17 with 55 seconds left in the third.

The score held throughout the third with five combined punts and two WIU turnovers – an interception by Mike Crutcher and fumble recovery by Andrew Beisel – but neither team could threaten.  With 2:50 to go, Josh Hudson found Chestnut for 54 yards to the MSU 20.  On the next play, Hudson was picked off by Strong who returned it 91 yards for the exclamation mark score to put MSU up 31-17.

The game started with some fireworks as Western Illinois’ Larry Patterson returned the opening kick 90 yards to paydirt to give the Leathernecks an early 7-0 lead 12 seconds into the game.  However, the Bears retaliated quickly with a 74-yard scoring drive of their own. Trevor Wooden carried four times for 61 yards on the nine-play possession and capped the series with a 14-yard touchdown run to tie the contest, 7-7.

The Bears forced the Leathernecks to punt after three plays on their next possession and took over on the MSU 38.  MSU drove all the way to the WIU three-yard line before settling for a 21-yard field goal attempt by Austin Witmer, which missed wide left to keep the game knotted, 7-7.

On the first drive of the second quarter, Western followed suit by driving from their own 20 to the MSU 11 before a missed 34-yard field goal by Pat Smith maintained the tie.  The miss spoiled a 31-yard pass completion from Hudson to Justin Morgan early in the 17-play drive and negated a fourth-and-one conversion at the Bears’ 12 that put WIU on the doorstep of a go-ahead score.

Taking over on their own 20 with 10:12 left in the second, the Bears missed another scoring opportunity. A 36-yard completion from Wooden to Matt Thayer on the first play moved the ball to the WIU 44. The Bears continued the drive to the 36, but could not convert another first down. Witmer came on for a 42-yard field goal try and missed it wide left with 7:28 left in the opening half.

On the very next play, Hudson was sacked by Mikel Ruder, forcing the ball loose and recovered by Nate Davis at the Western 20-yard line.  MSU wasted little time taking the lead as Wooden hit Saffold in stride at the three-yard line, and he fell across the goal line for the score. Witmer’s PAT made it 14-7 Bears with 7:19 to play.

The teams exchanged punts from there, and WIU took over on its own 14 with 3:33 to play in the second. Fourteen plays later, the Leathernecks converted a 21-yard field goal as time expired when Smith split the uprights to cap the 82-yard drive and make it a 14-10 game at the intermission.

The Bears return to Plaster Field next Saturday to face South Dakota State at 2 p.m. on Homecoming.

— MSU Sports Information —

High School Football Scores – Friday, October 21

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WEEK 9

Class 5 – District 16
@ Central 14 (5-4, 3-1 SUB) (1-1)
Staley 28 (9-0, 4-0 SUB) (2-0)

Park Hill 48 (4-5, 3-1 SUB) (1-1)
@ Oak Park 20 (0-9, 0-4 SUB) (0-2)

Class 4 – District 16
Savannah 40 (8-1, 6-1 MEC) (2-0)
@ Benton 13 (4-5, 2-4 MEC) (0-2)

Platte County 49 (7-2, 3-2 SUB) (2-0)
@ Lafayette 26 (5-4, 3-3 MEC) (0-2)

Class 4 – District 15
Smithville 31 OT (7-2, 6-1 MEC) (1-1)
@ Liberty North 28 (6-2, 2-2 SUB) (1-1)

Excelsior Springs 24 (1-8, 1-4 MRVC) (0-2)
@ Kearney 56 (7-2, 3-1 SUB) (2-0)

Class 3 – District 16
Maryville 41 (8-1, 5-1 MEC) (2-0)
@ St. Pius X 14 (5-4, 3-2 West Central) (1-1)

Cameron 6 (2-7, 2-4 MEC) (0-2)
@ Chillicothe 41 (4-5, 2-5 MEC) (1-1)

Class 2 – District 16
Bishop LeBlond 35 (1-8, 0-7 MEC) (1-1)
@ Plattsburg 7 (1-8, 1-5 KCI) (0-2)

Trenton 6 (5-4) (1-1)
@ Hamilton 41 (9-0, 7-0 GRC) (2-0)

Class 2 – District 15
Hogan Prep 6 (6-3) (1-1)
@ Lawson 17 (7-2, 4-1 KCI) (2-0)

Lathrop 49 (4-5, 2-3 KCI) (1-1)
@ Lexington 13 (2-7, 2-3 MRVC) (0-2)

Class 1 – District 16
King City 32 (2-6, 1-5 GRC) (2-0)
@ Albany 27 (1-8, 0-7 GRC) (0-2)

Maysville 13 (2-7, 1-5 GRC) (1-1)
@ Rock Port 21 (2-7) (1-1)

Class 1 – District 15
East Buchanan 56 (8-1, 4-1 KCI) (2-0)
@ Mid-Buchanan 28 (3-6, 1-4 KCI) (0-2)

North Platte 18 (5-4, 1-4 KCI) (0-2)
@ West Platte 42 (7-2, 5-0 KCI) (2-0)

Class 1 – District 14
Gallatin 13 (6-3, 4-2 GRC) (1-1)
@ Polo 32 (7-2, 5-2 GRC) (1-1)

Braymer 8 (2-7) (0-2)
@ South Harrison 48 (7-2, 5-1 GRC) (2-0)

8-Man – District 1
Mound City 52 (7-2, 6-1 275) (3-0 DI)
@ Nodaway-Holt 6 (0-8, 0-7 275) (0-3 DI)

Tarkio 44 (3-6, 2-6 275) (2-2 DI)
@ South Holt 66 (6-3, 4-3 275) (3-0 DI)

8-Man – District 2
Worth County 46 (9-0, 7-0 275) (3-0 D2)
@ North Nodaway 0 (3-6, 3-4 275) (0-3 D2)

South Nodaway 28 (2-7, 1-3 PVC) (1-3 D2)
@ West Nodaway 46 (5-4, 4-3 275) (1-2 D2)

8-Man – District 3
St. Joseph Christian 88 (9-0) (3-0 D3)
@ DeKalb 36 (5-3, 2-1 PVC) (1-2 D3)

North Andrew 68 (4-5, 2-1 PVC) (1-2 D3)
@ Stewartsville 42 (2-7, 0-4 PVC) (0-4 D3)

Craig/Fairfax 6 (0-9, 0-7 275) (0-3 DI)
@ Stanberry 78 (8-2, 6-1 275) (3-0 D2)

@ SW Livingston 76 (7-1, 4-0 PVC) (3-0 D3)
NW Hughesville 20

Corkhill leads Griffon past Pitt State in five sets

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Freshman Shelby Corkill led the Griffons to a 3-2 (28-26, 22-25, 25-19, 25-27, 15-9) thrilling victory over the Pittsburg State Gorillas. Corkill finished with a career high 26 kills hitting .309 in the match. Her 26 kills are the most for a Griffon since Lindsay Fuller recorded 28 on September 10, 2003 at Central Missouri. Western improves to 11-11 overall and 4-5 in MIAA play.

The first two sets were very competitive with both teams wining one. Western took set one 28-26 hitting .240 with 18 kills. Corkill and Tahler Johnston each recorded six in the set. The Gorillas led all the way in set two hitting .209 with 12 kills with Brooke Fay collecting six in the set. The Gorillas evened the match up at one with the 25-22 victory.

After two sets the Griffons were hitting .200 with 36 kills. Corkill led the way with 15 while Stephanie Hattey recorded 30 set assists. Sarah Faubel had 15 digs with the Griffons recording 55. The Gorillas were led by Fay with eight of the Gorillas 28 kills after the first two sets.

Western came out of the break on fire forcing the Gorillas into a .000 hitting percentage. With the score tied at 11 the Griffons were able to push outscoring the Gorillas 14-8 earning the 25-19 set victory. Western had 15 kills hitting .171 in the set.

Western looked to be in control of the fourth set being up 20-10 but the Gorillas never gave up closing the match on a 17-5 run tying the set at two with the 27-25 set victory. Set five belonged to the Griffons as they closed the set on an 11-5 run earning the victory and stay undefeated at home on the season.

Western finished the match with 71 kills with Johnston finishing the 20 kills and Alex Behnke chipping in 10. Hattey finished with a career high 60 of the Griffons 68 set assists while Faubel had 23 of the Griffons 89 digs.

The Gorillas had 57 kills with Fay collecting 12 kills. Rebecca Pearson had 34 set assists while Christa McCaw had 36 of their 84 digs. The Gorillas fall to 7-17 overall and 4-7 in MIAA play.

Western returns to action on homecoming Saturday when they host the Southwest Baptist Bearcats on October 22. Game time is set for 7:00 pm from the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri volleyball loses in three to Southwest Baptist

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The Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats (9-12, 3-5 MIAA) were defeated by the Southwest Baptist Bearcats (9-14, 4-7 MIAA) 3-0 Friday night at Bearcat Arena.

Northwest pushed Southwest Baptist in the final two sets, but the purple Bearcats would rally to win in straight sets 25-23, 26-24, and 29-27.

Senior setter Laira Akin continued her great season for Northwest recording 45 of the Bearcat’s 52 assists in the match.  Akin also contributed eight digs in the loss.

Alex Hanna and Brooke Bartosh would propel the Northwest attack recording a combined 26 kills.  As a team the Bearcats hit a combined .324, a season high.

Junior Tori Beckman led Northwest with 14 digs.

Kylie Heim lead the Southwest Baptist attack contributing 12 kills and a .512 hitting percentage in the win.  Britni Reed pitched in 10 kills respectively.  As a team, the Southwest Baptist Bearcats hit .324.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Northwest soccer loses at No. 10 Central, 2-0

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The Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats (8-4-2, 5-2 MIAA) fell to the No. 10 Central Missouri Jennies (14-1-0, 6-0 MIAA) 2-0 Thursday night in Warrensburg.

The first half was a defensive showdown with a combined nine shots being attempted.  The Jennies jumped to 1-0 lead in the 27th minute when Caysi Shouse headed the ball past Northwest goalkeeper Kelsey Adams.  It was Shouse’s fourth goal of the season and the only goal of the half as the Jennies went into halftime up 1-0.

For the half, the Jennies outshot the Bearcats 8-1 and held a 6-0 advantage in corner kicks.

The second half started out very similar to the first, with both teams clamping down on defense.  Central Missouri would up their lead to 2-0 in the 70th minute when Becky Lackey found the net for the eighth time this season off of an assist from Alyssa Rhodes.

For the match, the Jennies outshot the Bearcats 17-2 with the Jennies having a 10-0 corner kick advantage.  The two shots attempted was a season low for the Bearcats and it was only the second time this season that the Bearcats had no corner kicks in a match.

With the win the No. 10 Jennies kept intact their now 30-match conference winning streak.  This was just the fourth time this season in which the Bearcats were unable to get on the board.

Bearcats’ goal Kelsey Adams collected 10 saves in the loss upping her season total to 95.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

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