ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western volleyball team dropped its second-straight match and first at home this season, dropping three close sets to No. 14 Central Oklahoma Friday night in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

The loss dropped the Griffons to 10-4 overall and 2-1 in MIAA play. The win improved Central Oklahoma to 14-1 and 3-0 in the MIAA. UCO is now tied for first in the conference with Northwest Missouri State, which defeated Pittsburg State Friday night. The Griffons will host Pittsburg State Saturday afternoon.

Missouri Western went point-for-point with Central Oklahoma, which has now won eight-straight. The match featured 16 ties and eight lead changes, four each in the first two sets. The Bronchos won set one and three, 25-21 and took the second set 25-22. Missouri Western scored four-straight points in the first to tie the set at 17, but UCO jumped back in front and led the rest of the way. The Griffons led 15-9 in set two but three-straight errors brought the Bronchos within three. Missouri Western stretched the lead to 18-13 but allowed UCO to go on an 8-0 run that put UCO up for good. The third set was closely contested but tied only once as UCO took the set 25-21.

MWSU was led by Jessie Thorup’s 11 kills. The senior was honored before the match as just the fourth Griffon to reach 1,000 kills in the rally scoring era. She eclipsed the mark earlier this week in a loss at Missouri S&T. Blair Russell added 10 kills and Rachel Friedrichs had eight. Friedrichs and Shellby Taylor each had three blocks and Jordan Chohon had 34 assists. Kayla Ruff tied a career-high with 21 digs.

The Griffons stay at home when they host Pittsburg State at 2 p.m. Saturday.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western women’s soccer team defeated Missouri Southern Friday 2-0 at Spratt Stadium.

The win improved the Griffons’ record to 5-2-1, reaching five wins in their eighth match of the season. 2014 was the fastest the program had ever reached five wins, doing it in the 10th match of the year.

Missouri Western got goals from Bridget Blessie and Sydney Cluck, while Sarah Lyle and the Griffon back-line shut out Missouri Southern. Lyle became MWSU’s all-time career leader in shutouts with her 12th and moved into second all-time with 232 saves. Blessie’s goal came in the 25th minute off a deflection from a Sydney Andrews shot. Cluck scored on a header in the 78th minute with an assist from Jordyn Galvin. The Griffons had 26 shots to Missouri Southern’s 10 and Lyle only needed to make two saves for her record breaking shutout.

The Griffons will have a chance to move up in the MIAA standings when they host Southwest Baptist on Sunday at noon. The Bearcats are two games ahead of the Griffosn and in a fourth place tie with Nebraska-Kearney at 2-1 in league play. MWSU is 1-1-1.

— MWSU Athletics —

ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri Western’s longest volleyball win streak in 20 years came to an end Tuesday night in a 3-0 loss at Missouri S&T.

It was the first time this season Missouri Western did not force at least a fourth set and dropped the team to 10-3 overall.

The Griffons had won 10 in a row coming in, the team’s longest streak since winning 12 in 1995. Missouri Western also received votes in this week’s AVCA top-25 poll.

Missouri Western was held well under its .234 hitting percentage for the season, hitting .000 for the match. The Griffons hit -.029 with seven kills and eight attack errors in the first set. In the second the team had nine kills and 10 errors for a -.019 hitting percentage. Missouri Western had leads in all three sets but long streaks by Missouri S&T, including a 10-0 run in the third set brought the Miners ahead.

Jessie Thorup led MWSU offensively with 10 kills. Rachel Friedrich’s five were second most as the team had 24 total with 24 attack errors. Kayla Ruff had 15 digs to lead the team. Amanda Dalbey and Audrey Keim each had 10 digs. The Griffons had six total blocks as a teams.

The Griffons return to the fieldhouse this coming weekend to face No. 14 Central Oklahoma on Friday at 6 p.m. Saturday night the Griffons host Pittsburg State at 7 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s golf team currently sits second through the first round of the MIAA Fall Preview. MWSU fired a 307 in the first round with all five players reporting a score under 80.

The Griffons are led by freshman Jenna Kosmatka as she scored a 75 in round one, earning her a spot in fourth place overall. Celine Lim was second on the team with a 76 and currently sits tied for fifth. Shi Quing Ong and Anna Kloeppel are currently tied at 13th, scoring a 78 in round one.

Missouri Western currently sits two shots behind Northeastern for first place. The Griffons are up one stroke on Central Oklahoma for third place.

Ebba Moberg is the currently individual leader as she has a score of 73 through round one.

The Griffons will finish up the second round of the MIAA Fall Preview on Tuesday.

— MWSU Athletics —

TAHELQUAH, Okla. – The Missouri Western women’s soccer team dropped their match on Sunday afternoon, falling to Northeastern State 1-0. The Griffons are now 4-2-1 overall and 0-1-1 in MIAA play.

The Griffons and RiverHawks played the first half with no score and each offensive being limited to three shots of less. NSU came out of halftime controlling much of the pace creating 12 shots in the half and scoring their first goal of the afternoon. Jennifer Cudjoe scored her fifth goal of the season with a shot from inside the box and was assisted by Kelsey McIntrye.

The Griffons were limited offensively, earning only four shots throughout the match. Sydeney Andrews had two shots while Cassidy Chappell and Layne Shepherd each had one shot as well. MWSU was able to earn five corner kicks in the match.

Sarah Lyle had five saves during the game while playing all 90 minutes for the Griffons.

Missouri Western will return home next weekend with two home games. On Friday, October 2nd the Griffons will take on Missouri Southern at 4 and on Sunday, October 4th they will face off against Southwest Baptist.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western football team scored 31 unanswered points Saturday as they rallied to defeat Lindenwood inside Spratt Stadium 34-14.  The win is the third straight for the Griffons as they improve to 3-1 on the season.

Missouri Western fell behind 14-3 and trailed 14-6 at the half.  The Griffons also had to punt on the opening drive of the second half and then the MWSU defense took over the game.

Donte Watkins picked off Lindenwood quarterback Jesse Scoggins on the Lions’ third play of the second half. The interception set up a 57-yard touchdown pass from TJ LaFaver to DiJuan Ussery on the first play of the ensuing drive. The point after attempt would be missed by Tanner Pettet, one of three PAT misses for the freshman in the game.

The Griffons took their first lead of the game with 2:36 to go in the third quarter on a three-yard touchdown run by Josh Caldwell. On the drive, Ussery had a 55-yard catch and Caldwell had a 25-yard run. On the fourth play of LIndenwood’s next drive the Griffon defense did it again as Yomi Alli picked up a Scroggins fumble and ran it 44 yards for a touchdown that gave MWSU a 25-14 lead.

Petted added a 29-yard field goal and Raphael Spencer scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 5:27 left to ice it for the Griffons. Spencer moved into second on the all-time rushing list at MWSU in the first half. He finished with 120 yards rushing on 26 carries with a touchdown.

MWSU outgained Lindenwood 532-231, holding the Lions to just 34 yards in the second half. Missouri Western rushed for 253 yards and held Lindenwood to 90.  LaFaver was 18-28 for 279 yards passing with one touchdown and no interceptions, starting for the injured Skyler Windmiller. Ussery caught five passes for 151 yards and a touchdown; the second 150-plus yard receiver this year for the Griffons. Missouri Western sacked Scroggins six times and held him to 131 yards passing and 20 yards rushing.

Next week the Griffons visit No. 15 Pittsburg State for a 2 p.m. kick.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western volleyball team extended its longest winning streak since 1995 to 10 games with a straight-set victory over Southwest Baptist Saturday night in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

The Griffons were dominant after winning a close first set, 25-21. They reached set point in the second before SBU had reached 10 points, but surrendered two before taking the set 25-11. MWSU didn’t allow the Bearcats to reach double-digits in the third set, winning 25-8. The win moved the Griffons to 10-2 overall and 2-0 in the MIAA.

Missouri Western hit .333 as a team and kept Southwest Baptist under .000, with a -.010 hitting percentage. The Bearcats had just 21 kills in the match to the Griffons’ 44. Jessie Thorup led the team again with 15 kills and hit .393. Lindsey Partridge and Rachel Friedrichs each had six kills for the Griffons. Jordan Chohon finished with 34 assists and seven digs. Kayla Ruff led MWSU with 19 digs.

The Griffons take a break from home action with a rare Tuesday match at Missouri S&T this week. They’ll return to St. Joseph next weekend when they host Central Oklahoma on Friday and Pittsburg State on Saturday.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western volleyball team won its ninth consecutive match Friday night, sweeping Missouri Southern in three sets. It’s the program’s longest win streak since winning 12 in a row in 1995.

The Griffons handed Missouri Southern its 11th straight loss and took the 10th straight in the series. The Griffons battled errors in the first set to win 25-21; controlled the second, winning 25-15 and used several runs to claim the third 25-21.

Offensive production was spread even with Jessie Thorup’s 12 kills leading the match. Lindsey Partridge added nine kills for the Griffons and Shellby Taylor and Rachel Friedrichs each had eight. MWSU hit .317 as a team with Thorup hitting .357 and Partridge hitting .571 on 14 attacks. Thorup added 10 digs, second behind Kayla Ruff’s 12. Jordan Chohon finished the night with 42 assists.

The Griffons look to extend the win streak when Southwest Baptist visits the fieldhouse Saturday night. SBU was swept Friday night by Northwest Missouri State.

— MWSU Athletics —

EDMOND, Okla. – The Missouri Western women’s soccer team ended in a draw 1-1 against Central Oklahoma on Friday evening. The Griffons are now 4-1-1 on the season. This is the Griffons first time in program history scoring a goal and tying with Central Oklahoma.

Cassidy Chappell scored her second goal of the season in the 10th minute of the game when she scored from the top left side of the box and put it in the right corner. The Bronchos evened the score in the 37th minute when Kaite Killion was assist from Falyn Dodd. Killion scored her third goal of the year on a point-blank shot after Sarah Lyle when for the cross.

The Griffons were held in check offensively, producing only three shots on goal compared to UCO’s nine shots on goal. Chappell had two shots on goal and Sydney Andrews tallied the other shot for the Griffons.

Goalie Sarah Lyle tallied eight saves on the night and now has a record of 4-1-1.

The Griffons will take on Northeastern State on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The Missouri Western men’s golf team finished in 11th place at the NSU Golf Classic, compiling a team score of 922 over the three rounds of golf. The Hillcrest Country Club was a par 71 – 6607 total yards.

Corey Knight finished the tournament with a fourth place finish individual. He tallied a 216 overall score throughout three rounds of golf. Ryan Hand and Drew Lagan recorded a 231 and 236 respectively. The Griffons did have one individual disqualified from the event.

Henderson State won the team title, scoring an 874 during the tournament. Southwestern Oklahoma St. finished second with a score of 879.­­­ Missouri Western was three strokes behind Arkansas-Fort Smith for 10th place and 11 strokes behind Missouri Southern for ninth place.

Arkansas Tech’s Bryce Burke won individual award with a score of 210. He recorded rounds of 72, 70, and 68 for the tournament.

The Griffons will return home for their next tournament on October 12th and October 13th for the MWSU/Holiday Inn Express Classic Central Region Invite at the St. Joseph, Country Club.

— MWSU Athletics —