ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Volleyball (13-15, 5-10) dispatched Southwest Baptist (4-24, 0-15) in three sets to end a five-match losing streak.

Missouri Western came out on fire, winning the first set 25-7 and never allowed Southwest Baptist more than the 19 the Bearcats got in the third set. The Griffons never trailed with just two brief ties in the second and third sets.

NOTABLES

• Missouri Western hit .323 on the night while holding SBU to a -.021 hitting percentage
• The Griffons hit over .400 in both the first (.481) and second (.455) sets
• Missouri Western jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the first and used an 8-1 run to go ahead 23-6
• The .323 team hitting percentage was the highest since hitting .372 on the first day of the season against McKendree
• The Griffons had three aces and forced SBU to just a .360 sideout percentage in the match

LEADERS

• Stephanie Doak had a match-high 11 kills, extending her streak of double-digit kill matches to seven. The junior has double-digit kills in 12 of the last 13 matches.
• Ali Tauchen had a team-high five total blocks to go with her eight kills and team-high .583 hitting percentage
• Rachel Losch also had eight kills while hitting .571
• Lauren Murphy finished with 37 assists
• Audrey Keim led the team with 22 digs
• Sam Duncan and Shellby Taylor each added seven digs. Duncan had four in the first set.

UP NEXT

• Senior Night against Missouri Southern (3-22, 3-12), Saturday night at 6
• Missouri Southern lost 3-0 at Northwest Missouri, Friday night. The Lions defeated Missouri Western in five sets on Sept. 22.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western Soccer (11-5, 6-3 MIAA) fell to No. 10 Central Oklahoma (16-0, 9-0 MIAA) 4-0 Sunday afternoon at Spratt Stadium. The loss gives the Griffons the 1-1 split over the weekend with their win on Friday.

NOTABLES

• The Griffons were able to hold Central Oklahoma scoreless before the 30^th minute for just the third time in the Bronchos’ season.
• Katie Killion scored the Bronchos’ first goal on a header in the 30^th minute.
• Killion scored again in the second half for her 22^nd goal of the season.
• Central Oklahoma scored two more goals to win by a score of 4-0 and stay undefeated.
• Sunday’s loss snaps a four-game winning streak for Missouri Western.
• Missouri Western remains just one conference point behind Central Missouri in the MIAA standings. The Griffons will matchup with the Jennies in the final game of the regular season on October 28.

STATS AND LEADERS

• Claire Meyers and Cassidy Menke each led the team with three shots.
• Four Griffons each had one shot on goal.
• Anna Mayer had seven saves and faced a season-high 25 shots.
• The Griffons finished with 11 shots.

UP NEXT

• Missouri Western will play its final two weekend games next week.
• The Griffons will host Northwest Missouri on Senior Night and SJYSA Club Night on Friday, October 26.
• The Bearcats fell to 2-13 (1-7 MIAA) after their loss to Northeastern State on Sunday.
• Missouri Western won 4-0 in the first matchup on September 16.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Griffon Volleyball (12-15, 4-10) fell in three sets at Lindenwood (13-11, 5-9) Saturday evening.

NOTABLES

• The loss was the fifth-straight overall and sixth-straight road loss for the Griffons
• Lindenwood broke an eighth place tie – the final qualifying spot for the MIAA Championships – with the Griffons putting Missouri Western alone in ninth with two weeks remaining in the regular season
• Down 22-14 in the second set, MWSU went on a 7-0 run to nearly tie the set, but Lindenwood would take a 2-0 lead with a 25-22 final
• For the sixth-straight match and the 11^th time in the last 12, Stephanie Doak had double-digit kills, finishing the night with 12
• Lindenwood had 22 more kills than the Griffons in the match (52-30)

LEADERS

• Doak again led the Griffons with 12 kills and a .423 hitting percentage
• Ali Tauchen finished with three blocks and eight kills
• Lauren Murphy had a team-high 25 assists
• Audrey Keim led the team with 10 digs

UP NEXT

• The final two regular season home matches and Pink Week in the MWSU Fieldhouse
• The Griffons host Southwest Baptist, Oct. 26, and Missouri Southern for Senior Night on Oct. 27

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Soccer put on a show for its former Griffons on Brooke English Memorial Alumni Night at Spratt Stadium on Friday night. The Griffons improved to 11-4 (6-2 MIAA) in a 2-0 victory over Northeastern State (7-6-2, 1-5-2 MIAA).

NOTABLES

• Taylor Schwartzkopf scored the game’s first goal to give the Griffons the 1-0 just six minutes into the first half. Madeline Cowell created the Northeastern State turnover before Schwartzkopf was able to sneak the long shot past the goalkeeper.
• Cassidy Menke extended the Griffon lead to two in the 81^st minute off of a Taylor Schwartzkopf assist.
• Missouri Western has now won four straight games, tying its longest win streak of the season.
• The Griffons never trailed during Friday’s win and have only trailed a total of nine minutes during the team’s four-game win streak.
• With the win on Friday night, Missouri Western has now clinched a spot in the MIAA Tournament. This will be the fifth-straight season the Griffons will play in the postseason tournament.

STATS AND LEADERS

• The Griffons totaled more shots than their opponent on Friday night for the first time in four games. The Griffons finished with 21 shots and only allowed nine.
• The 10 shots on goal from Missouri Western in Friday’s win ties its season high.
• Only two of the RiverHawks shots were on goal.
• Cassidy Menke has scored five goals over the last four games.
• The Griffon defense posted its second straight shutout and has allowed only two goals during the four-game win streak.

UP NEXT

• Missouri Western will face undefeated No. 10 Central Oklahoma (15-0, 8-0 MIAA) at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday.
• The Bronchos have outscored their opponents 54-4 this season.
• Central Oklahoma topped Northwest Missouri 3-0 on the road on Friday.

— MWSU Athletics —

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Griffon Volleyball lost its fourth-straight match, 3-1 at No. 17 Central Missouri Friday night.

Missouri Western (12-14, 4-9) was on the verge of forcing a fifth set, but a late Central Missouri (19-6, 9-4) run in the fourth handed the Griffons their fifth-straight road loss.

NOTABLES

• After a 10-5 Griffon run gave MWSU a 22-20 lead in the fourth, UCM answered with a 5-1 run to win the fourth set and the match
• Shellby Taylor became the second Griff to reach 1,000 career kills this season. Taylor entered the night needing four kills to reach the milestone and ended with seven. She joined Stephanie Doak on the club.
• The four-match losing streak is the longest for Missouri Western since the 2013 season
• After dropping the first set, 25-11, the Griffons evened the match with a 25-19 win in set two
• UCM ended the third set on an 8-3 run to take the set 25-20
• The loss dropped MWSU into a tie for eighth place in the MIAA standings with Lindenwood, whom the Griffons will face on Saturday.

LEADERS

• Rachel Losch hit .409 with 11 kills and five total blocks
• Stephanie Doak led the team with 13 kills
• Ali Tauchen had nine kills and 17 digs
• Maryssa Recio improved on her career night from earlier in the week with a career-high eight kills
• Lauren Murphy led the team with 34 assists
• Audrey Keim had a team-high 33 digs

UP NEXT

• At Lindenwood, Saturday at 6 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – With two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Missouri Western women’s soccer team finds itself in a position to make its second-consecutive NCAA Central Region Championships appearance. Missouri Western was ranked sixth in the first release of the NCAA Division II regional rankings, Wednesday.

Last year the Griffons made their first regional appearance in program history and are in a good spot to do it again with the top-eight teams in the final regional rankings making the field. The Griffons are 10-4 overall and and 5-2 in MIAA play with three of their remaining four regular season games on Craig Field at Spratt Memorial Stadium. Northeastern State comes to St. Joseph this Friday while Central Oklahoma – ranked No. 2 in the Central Region poll – visits the Griffons on Sunday. Next week Missouri Western hosts Northwest Missouri for Senior Night on Oct. 26 before traveling to Central Missouri for the regular season finale Oct. 28.

Missouri Western was one of three MIAA teams inside the top-eight with Emporia State just on the outside looking in at No. 9. Current MIAA leader Central Oklahoma was ranked No. 2 behind Bemidji State with Central Missouri at No. 3. Minnesota State which hosted the Griffons in the regional last season was No. 4 and Oklahoma Baptist was ranked No. 5. Behind the Griffons were Augustana (SD) at No. 7, Concordia-St. Paul at No. 8, Emporia State at No. 9 and Minot State at No. 10.

— MWSU Athletics —

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Missouri Western Women’s Golf ended its fall season with perhaps its best single-round team performance of the season. The Griffons outshot every other team in the second round with a score of 303 to jump from 12^th to fifth at the Central Region Preview.

The Griffons improved by a combined 15 strokes from their 318 performance on Tuesday. The Griffons’ jump up to fifth place ties their best finish of the season. Missouri Western’s turnaround in the second round was a complete team effort as four of the five golfers improved their scores in the second round.

Shi Qing Ong vaulted up the individual leaderboards with her stellar second round. Ong came into the round two tied for 16^thafter shooting a 76 in the first round. Ong shot an even-par 71 in the second round to finish tied for second at the tournament. Her 71-score second round tied for the second-best single round score at the event.

Chong Yong also improved her score in day two. Yong entered Wednesday tied for 16^th after her 76 on Tuesday. Yong ended with a second round score of 75 to finish tied for 12^th.

Anna Bech put together one of the most impressive second round turnarounds at the tournament. Bech finished the second round nine strokes fewer than her first round, shooting a 76 on Wednesday. Her second round performance gave Missouri Western another top-50 finish as she placed tied for 44^th.

Katie Irvin finished tied for 50^th with an overall score of 162. Jenna Kosmatka improved by five strokes in her second round to shoot an 82 on Wednesday.

Again, Missouri Western Women’s Golf wrapped up its fall schedule upon finishing the Central Region Preview. They will be off for the winter before coming back for the spring season in March.

— MWSU Athletics —

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Missouri Western Women’s Golf began play at the Central Region Preview in Tahlequah on Tuesday. The Griffons finished the first round in 12th in the team standings with a score of 318. The Central Region Preview is a two-day event, and is the last tournament for the team in the fall season.

Leading the Griffons after the first round is Shi Qing Ong and Chong Yong. Ong and Yong both finished the first round with a 76 (+5). Ong scored two birdies and finished even on par holes. Yong parred 11 of the 18 holes. Ong and Yong are both tied for 16th going into the second round.

Katie Irvin sits tied for 50th with her 81 on Tuesday. Anna Bech finished with an 85 and Jenna Kosmatka shot at 87.

Missouri Western Women’s Golf will tee off at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday to wrap up the fall season.

— MWSU Athletics —