For the first time in 2013 the 4th ranked Missouri Western football team lost. The Griffons fell 34-14 against 12th ranked Pittsburg State on the 2nd Annual Military Appreciation day. Reggie Jordan had two touchdown catches as the Griffons fall to 7-1 overall and 6-1 in MIAA play.

Despite controlling the time of possession in the first quarter the Griffons could only manage 70 yards on 21 plays. Raphael Spencer had 33 yards on seven carries while Derek Libby caught three passes for 14 yards. The Gorillas hit a big pass down the middle to Gavin Lutman which helped set them up for a 41 yard Connor Frazell field goal. PSU took the lead 3-0 after one quarter.

The Gorillas went up 10-0 when Jeff Seybold capped an 11 play 76 yard drive with a 23 yard touchdown run giving Pittsburg State the 10-0 lead with 11:27 to play in the quarter. The Gorillas got the ball back were driving to extend its lead but a completion off a tipped pass to offensive lineman Ollie Venegas turned into a fumble which MWSU recoverd at its own nine yard line.

The Griffons finally got on the board when Travis Partridge connected with Reggie Jordan from 67 yards out cutting the PSU lead to 10-7 with 5:15 to play in the half. The Gorillas put a drive together at the end of the half with Frazell connecting from 22 yards out giving PSU the 13-7 lead at the half.

At the half the Griffons had 158 yards with just 33 on the ground. Spencer had 36 yards on eight carries. Partridge completed 10-of-16 passes for 125 yards with Josh Walker and Libby both making three catches. Yomi Alli had seven tackles in the half.

The Gorillas had 230 yards with 98 on the ground and 132 through the air. Seybold had 79 yards on 11 carries while Anthony Abenoja completed 10-of-18 passes for 132 yards. John Brown caught three passes for 29 yards while Lutman and two receptions for 56 yards. Nate Dreiling led the way defensively with six tackles.

The first drive of the second half for the Griffons looked good as they drove down to the PSU 35 yard line. Spencer had a run of nine and 30 yards helping the Griffons drive into PSU territory. The drive would stall out and on a 52 yard field goal try PSU’s Jason Peete blocked the kick and scampered in giving the Gorillas the 20-7 lead with 11:01 to play in the quarter.

Neither team scored the rest of the quarter but in the fourth Seybold capped an eight play 71 yard drive by the Gorillas with his second TD of the game from three yards out putting Pittsburg State up 27-7.

The Griffons responded with a drive of its own going 75 yards on eight plays. Partridge connected with Jordan from 14 yards out cutting the PSU lead to 27-14 with 9:35 to play.

That would be all the offense for the Griffons as Pittsburg State scored once more taking the victory. Pittsburg State improves to 7-1 overall and 6-1 in MIAA play.

The Gorillas had 471 yards of offense with 280 coming on the ground. Seybold finished with 179 yards and three touchdowns. Abenoja completed 13-of-25 passes for 191 yards with Brown catching four passes for 48 yards. Dreiling had 11 tackles on the day.

Partridge finished with 193 yards and two touchdowns while Stephon Weaver had three catches for 56 yards. Spencer had 101 yards on 16 carries while Alli finished with 15 tackles and Marcus Thompson finished with 10.

Things don’t get any easier for the Griffons as they host the 17th ranked Emporia State Hornets on Saturday, November 2nd in St. Joseph, Mo. Kickoff is set for 1:30 pm in Spratt Stadium.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western fell to No. 11 Washburn in four sets, 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 26-24, 25-20) Saturday night at MWSU Fieldhouse.

After Washburn took the first set 25-20, the Griffons jumped ahead to gain control of the second set.

Led by Erica Rottinghaus, the Griffons built a strong lead. Ahead 15-12, Rottinghaus added a kill to extend their lead. She recorded five kills in the set as the Griffons remained in a close battle with the Ichabods.

Rottinghaus put together another kill to break a 20-20 tie, and the junior put in a final kill to mark the score 24-20. An attack error by the Ichabods sent the match into the break tied 1-1.

The third set was the closest of the night. The Griffons went ahead 8-4 and steadily remained in the lead by four points before Washburn brought the set closer. A 4-1 run was ended with an Erin Backhuus kill to mark the score 12-10. Kelsey Olion added a kill to give the Griffons their biggest lead of the match, a 16-10 lead. But Washburn came back.

Down by seven, the Ichabods went on a 7-1 run to make it 18-17. The match was tied at 20, 22 and 24 but Washburn scored the final two points to take the important third set. That gave Washburn a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth set.

Washburn led throughout the final set to clinch the victory 3-1.

Rottinghaus led the Griffons with 17 kills. Sarah Faubel led the Griffons with 21 digs. Jordon Chohon had 40 assists for a team high.

Washburn was led by Marissa Cox who had 18 kills. The Griffons return to action Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. start against Northwest Missouri State.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western soccer team fell on the road against Southwest Baptist by a score of 3-1. Drew Mantlo got her first goal of her career as the Griffons fall to 2-13-2 overall and 0-9-1 in MIAA play.

The Bearcats got on the board early in the game when Ashley Creason blasted a free kick past MWSU goalie Sarah Lyle in the 7th minute. The score remained that way until after half time when Creason scored another free kick from 16 yards giving SBU the 2-0 lead at the 48:38 mark of the game.

SBU took a 3-0 lead in the 79th minute when Karla Jamison took a pass from Brittany Marino and put it past Lyle. MWSU responded in the 79 minute when Mantlo took a pass from Andrews ending the game at 3-1.

The Griffons had five shots with three on goal as Mantlo finished with three shots. Lyle made three saves in the contest.

SBU had 16 shots with six on goal. Creason had six shots with three on goal while Kate Jamison took three shots. The Bearcats improve to 10-5-1 overall and 6-4 in MIAA play.

The Griffons play their final game of the season on Friday, November 1 when they take on the Missouri Southern Lions at 7:00 pm in Joplin, Mo.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western volleyball team rallied after losing the first set to defeat the Pittsburg State Gorillas 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-23). The Griffons were led by Erica Rottinghaus with 21 kills while Kelsey Olion had 19 while hitting .429 in the match. The Griffons improve to 12-12 overall and 5-5 in MIAA play.

The Griffons and the Gorillas played the first two sets to a 1-1 tie with both teams winning sets by scores of 25-22. The Gorillas won set one hitting .216 with 13 kills and 16 digs.

In set two the Griffons came back scoring 13 of the final 19 points takeing the set 25-22. They got the last point off a block from Erin Backhuus and Amanda Boender. The Griffons hit .234 in the set with Rottinghaus and Olion both getting seven kills in the set. Jordan Chohon had 14 set assists.

After two sets the Griffons had 30 kills to the Gorillas 29 but had 13 errors to just nine for PSU. Both teams had 28 set assists while the Gorillas had 36 digs to the Griffons 35. Olion had 10 kills while Chohon had 22 set assists and 11 digs. The Gorillas were led by Crystal Whitten with 10 kills.

The Griffons came out of the break and dominated the third set taking the victory 25-17. Rottinghaus had six kills while Chohon has 12 assists. As a team the Griffons had 14 kills in the set and nine digs.

Missouri Western kept competing in set four scoring five of the last eight points getting the 25-23 victory. Missouri Western hit .356 in the set with Olion and Rottinghaus combining for 15 kills.

Missouri Western hit .296 as a team while Backhuus getting nine and Boender getting seven. Chohon finished with 46 set assists and 16 digs while Sarah Faubel had 14 digs.

The Gorillas fall to 12-11 overall and 3-6 in MIAA play. Madison Mosier finished with 15 kills while Hayley Hansford had 42 set assists.

The Griffons return to action on Saturday, October 26 with an MIAA contest against #11 Washburn. First serve is set for 7:00 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western soccer team battled the 14th ranked Jennies of Central Missouri for almost 57 minutes before they got on the board. The Jennies scored three goals in the final 30 minutes taking a 3-0 victory. The Griffons had eight shots with four on goal as they fall to 2-12-2 overall and 0-8-1 in MIAA play.

Despite getting outshot 17-3 in the first frame the Griffons were able to keep the high powered Jennies out of the net going into the half tied at zero.

In the second half UCM took nine more shots with three of them going into the net. Kayla Hamner, Nicole Pond and Julie Ireland all scored goals in the half. For Hamner and Pond it was their third goals of the season while it was the 7th for Ireland. The Jennies improve to 11-2-2 overall and 7-1-1 in MIAA play.

K.C. Ramsell led the way offensively for the Griffons with two shots and both being on goal. Sarah Lyle made 11 saves for the Griffons.

MWSU return to action on Saturday, October 26 with a contest in Bolivar, Mo. against the Southwest Baptist Bearcats. First touch is set for 12:00 pm.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women’s basketball team was tabbed 8th in both the MIAA preseason coaches and media polls which were announced on Thursday, October 24, 2013 by the league office.

The Griffons received 90 points in the coach’s poll four behind Northwest Missouri State who was in 7th with 94 points and 18 ahead of Missouri Southern who sits in 9th with 72 points.

The Emporia State Hornets led the way in the coach’s poll with 164 points and eight first place votes while Central Missouri was close behind in second with 158 points and five first place votes. The Washburn Ichabods came in third with 143 points and one first place vote while Fort Hays State (130 pts.), Pittsburg State (124 pts.) and Northeastern State (101 pts.) came in 4th-6th respectively. Southwest Baptist came in 10th with 72 points, Central Oklahoma was 11th with 49 points while Lincoln, Lindenwood and Nebraska-Kearney rounded out the poll in 12th, 13th and 14th with 36, 28 and 19 points respectively.

In the media poll, the Griffons were also 8th receiving 187 points. First and second was switched in the media poll with UCM coming in 1st with 359 points and 13 first place votes while Emporia State came in second with 338 points and seven first place votes.  Third thru 12th place is the same as the coaches poll with Washburn receiving 312 points and six first place votes, Fort Hays State had 293 points and one first place vote, Pittsburg state received 269 points which was two more than Northeastern State’s 267. Northwest Missouri State, Missouri Western, Missouri Southern, Southwest Baptist, Central Oklahoma and Lincoln received 201, 187, 171, 128, 101 and 85 points respectively. UNK and Lindenwood fliped in the poll with Nebraska-Kearney coming in 13th with 75 points and Lindenwood coming in 14th with 49 points.

The Griffons are coming off a 16-12 season and 8-10 in MIAA play. They made their third consecutive trip to the MIAA Tournament and first under second year coach Rob Edmisson. MWSU returns a eight players from a year ago but also bring in six junior college transfers and three freshman.

Missouri Western will take on the Livin the Dream in an exhibition game on Tuesday, November 5 in St. Joseph, Mo. Tip time is set for 5:30 pm from the MWSU Fieldhouse. The Griffons will open the 2013-14 regular season on Saturday, November 9 hosting Chadron State University at 1:00 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

2013-14 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Emporia State (8)      164
2. Central Missouri (5)  158
3. Washburn (1)             143
4. Fort Hays State          130
5. Pittsburg State           124
6. Northeastern State   101
7. Northwest Missouri    94
8. Missouri Western      90
9. Missouri Southern      72
10. Southwest Baptist    66
11. Central Oklahoma    49
12. Lincoln                        36
13. Lindenwood               28
14. Nebraska-Kearney   19

2013-14 MIAA Preseason Media Poll
1. Central Missouri (13)  359
2. Emporia State (7)        338
3. Washburn (6)               312
4. Fort Hays State (1)       293
5. Pittsburg State              269
6. Northeastern State      267
7. Northwest Missouri     201
8. Missouri Western      187
9. Missouri Southern      171
10. Southwest Baptist    128
11.  Central Oklahoma   101
12. Lincoln                          85
13. Nebraska-Kearney     75
14. Lindenwood                 49

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western men’s basketball team was tabbed 11th in the MIAA preseason coaches poll and 12th in the media poll which was announced today, Wednesday, October 23, 2013 by the league office.

Missouri Western received 54 points in the coaches poll trailing Fort Hays State with 153, Northwest Missouri with 149, Central Missouri with 129, Northeastern State 127, Central Oklahoma 113, Missouri Southern 104, Washburn 101, Pittsburg State 93, Emporia State 83 and Lindenwood with 81. The Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State received six first place votes while Fort Hays State had five. Northeastern State, Central Oklahoma and Missouri Southern all collected one. Southwest Baptist, Nebraska-Kearney and Lincoln rounded out the poll with 46, 26 and 15 points respectively.

In the media poll, the Griffons were picked 12th with 102 points. Fort Hays State came in first with 353 points and 13 first place votes while Northwest Missouri State was second with 330 points and nine first place votes. Central Missouri came in third with 301 points and two first place votes while Northeastern State had 296 points and one first place vote in fourth. Washburn was fifth with 265 points and one first place vote, Central Oklahoma was sixth with 234 points, Pittsburg State had 204 points coming in 7th, Lindenwood came in 8th with 195 points, Missouri Southern received one first place vote with 194 points coming in 9th while Emporia State and Southwest Baptist came in 10th and 11th with 164 and 103 points respectively. Nebraska-Kearney and Lincoln rounded out the poll with 64 and 30 points respectively.

Missouri Western is coming off a 10-17 season and went 6-12 in MIAA play making it into the MIAA Tournament. The Griffons will be under first year head coach Brett Weiberg as he replaces long time Griffon coach Tom Smith. The Griffons return four letterman and three starters from a season ago who include Adarius Fulton, Cedric Clinkscales, Kalvin Balque and Dzenan Mrkaljevic. Weiberg and his staff also brought in a hand full of freshman and transfer student-athletes to round out the squad.

The Griffons open up their season with an exhibition contest against Livin the Dream on Tuesday, November 5 in St. Joseph, Mo. Game time is set for 7:30 pm. The Griffons will open up regular season play on Saturday, November 9 when they travel to Sioux Falls, SD to take part in the Sanford Pentagon Basketball Showcase. Missouri Western will take on host school Augustana at 6:00 pm.

2013-14 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll
1.  Fort Hays State (5)          153
2.  Northwest Missouri (6)  149
3.  Central Missouri              129
4.  Northeastern State (1)    127
5.  Central Oklahoma (1)     113
6.  Missouri Southern (1)     104
7.  Washburn                          101
8.  Pittsburg State                   93
9.  Emporia State                   83
10.  Lindenwood                    81
11.  Missouri Western          54
12.  Southwest Baptist          46
13.  Nebraska-Kearney         26
14.  Lincoln                              15

2013-14 MIAA Preseason Media Poll
1.  Fort Hays State (13)           353
2.  Northwest Missouri (9)      330
3.  Central Missouri (2)           301
4.  Northeastern State (1)       296
5.  Washburn (1)                      265
6.  Central Oklahoma              234
7.  Pittsburg State                     204
8.  Lindenwood                        195
9.  Missouri Southern (1)       194
10. Emporia State                   164
11.  Southwest Baptist           103
12.  Missouri Western           102
13.  Nebraska-Kearney          64
14.  Lincoln                               30

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women’s golf team closed out the fall portion of the schedule with a 10th place finish at the MIAA Fall Preview which was hosted by Lindenwood University at the par 71 Whitmoor Country Club. The Griffons posted a two day total of 705 (357-348) which was six strokes ahead of Central Missouri. The winner of the event was Central Oklahoma with a two day total of 620 (305-315) which was 17 strokes ahead of second place finisher Augustana (S.D.).

The Griffons were paced by Amber Chivington and Darcy Smith with 173’s putting them in a tie for 39th. Smith was playing as an individual in the tournament. Anna Kloeppel and Madison Romjue finished in a tie for 51st with 177’s while Callie Wilson and Shelby Stone fired 181 and 186 respectively.

The winner of the event was Bethany Darrough of Central Oklahoma with a 152 (73-79). She was one stroke better than K. Sethasomponbe of Minnesota State and teammate Taylor Neidy as they both shot 153.

The Griffons will return to action with the spring portion of their schedule in March. The Griffons open up the spring on March 10-11 participating in the UCO Classic. The event will be played in Edmond, Okla. at the Kickingbird Golf Club.

— MWSU Sports Information —

For the second straight week the Missouri Western football team is ranked 4th in the American Football Coaches Association. The Griffons are coming off 35-21 victory over the Missouri Southern Lions last week in Joplin, Mo. The Griffons have tied the best start in school history at 7-0 which was last done in 1981. This is the best start under coach Partridge and best start in MIAA play at 6-0.

Among other MIAA schools, Northwest Missouri is ranked No. 2 while Washburn is 10th, Pittsburg State is ranked 12th, and Emporia State is ranked 17th.

Missouri Western has been ranked in the top 25 in the last 26 polls and has received votes in 46 of the last 47polls by the American Football Coaches Association.

The Griffons return to action this week with a top-25 battle against the Pittsburg State Gorillas. It will be Military Appreciation Day at Spratt Stadium with kickoff set for Saturday, October 26 at 1:30 pm from Spratt Stadium in St. Joseph, Mo.

Click here for the complete AFCA Top 25 poll.

— MWSU Sports Information —