KEARNEY, Neb. – Griffon volleyball (24-10) fell in its first ever MIAA Championship final 3-1 to No. 7 Nebraska Kearney (33-3). The loss snaps MWSU’s 13 match winning streak, the longest since 1987.

SURVIVAL BY RALLY
In the second set, Missouri Western faced a 24-21 deficit and trailed 1-0 in the match. The Griffons fought off back-to-back set points and rallied for five straight points to win the set. Kills by Shellby Taylor started and finished off the rally to win the set.

TURNING POINT
The third set saw the Griffons lead 6-0 early and 24-21 late. However, the Lopers rallied off three consecutive points late in the set. UNK had to fight off set point four different times before finally winning the decisive set 29-27.

SPARK OFF THE BENCH
For the second match in a week, Erin Erb came off the bench for career nights. Erb had a career-high 16 kills in the match against the Lopers. In MWSU’s win against UNK on Nov. 11, she came off the bench for a then career-best 14 kills.

BEST SEASON
Missouri Western’s 2017 season is one for the record books as it won the most matches since 1997. The Griffons claimed a share of the conference regular season title for the first time since 1987. MWSU set new program records for digs (2,264) and assists (1,597) in a single season. MWSU also knocked off four ranked opponents. For head coach Marian Carbin, the season allowed her to win her 100th career match and lead her alma mater to 16 conference wins for the second time in her career and program history.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western awaits its NCAA Tournament fate to be announced on Monday, Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m. central time. Eight teams make the Central Region and the Griffons were ninth in the NCAA Central Region rankings on Nov. 15.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team (2-2) never trailed, but had to hang on for its second win of the season, 63-61 over Quincy (0-4) Saturday afternoon.

CLOSE CALL
The Griffons led by 18 with 3:19 left in the game, but Quincy ended the game on an 18-2 run and had the final possession, but couldn’t get off the final shot. Missouri Western’s only points during the Quincy run were two free throws. The Griffons also missed a pair of free throws with eight seconds left, giving the ball to Quincy.

ANOTHER WIRE-TO-WIRE WIN
Missouri Western scored the first points of the game and never trailed. It was the second wire-to-wire for the Griffons this season. So far the scripts have been similar for the team’s wins and losses. Both losses have come in overtime with the Griffons never trailing in either win.

LEADERS
Lavon Hightower led the Griffons with 18 points. He was one of three Griffons in double-figures as Seth Bonifas and Trey Brown each scored 10 points. Hightower, T.J. Evans and Cheikh Fall tied for the team lead with six rebounds each. Clearman led the team with five assists and also had a team-high three steals.

UP NEXT
The Griffons play their next three games on the road, beginning with a trip to Rockhurst on Tuesday, Nov. 21.

— MWSU Athletics —

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – No. 7-ranked Drury (3-1) handed the Missouri Western women’s basketball team (3-1) its first loss of the season, Saturday, 80-53.

Drury built a wide margin in the second quarter, outscoring the Griffons 24-12 in the quarter after leading by just one through the first quarter. Drury opened the second quarter with a 17-2 run and never led by less than seven the rest of the game.

Missouri Western continued to force turnovers, getting 20 from Drury, but the Griffons doubled their season total for turnovers in the game. Missouri Western turned the ball over 27 times, resulting in 22 Drury points. Drury shot 50 percent from the field in the game, while Missouri Western shot 40 percent.

Katrina Roenfeldt scored 11 points in the first quarter, but didn’t score again for the Griffons. Brittany Atkins scored at team-high 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting in 19 minutes of play. Melia Richardson added 10 points. Roenfeldt and Dossou Ndiaye.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western hosts the Fairfield Inn Thanksgiving Classic, Nov. 24 and 25 in the MWSU Fieldhouse. Northwest Missouri, Saint Mary (Kan.) and Rockhurst will all participate. The Griffons open play Nov. 24 at 7:30 against Saint Mary.

— MWSU Athletics —

KEARNEY, Neb. – Griffon volleyball (24-9) advanced to their first-ever MIAA Championship final with a five-set win over No.12 Central Oklahoma (28-5) Friday night at the Health & Sports Center in Kearney, Nebraska. The win gave Missouri Western head coach Marian Carbin her 100th career win.

MAKE HISTORY, REPEAT HISTORY
As MWSU made history with its first-ever win in the MIA Semifinals, it also repeated history. The Griffons beat the 12th-ranked Bronchos in five-sets for the second time this season. Similar to the first match on Oct. 13, Missouri Western trailed the match 2-1 headed into the fourth set. As history happened, it looked eerie similar as MWSU won the fourth set 25-20, just as it did at the first match. The Griffons surged late in the fifth-set to repeat history.

CAREER NIGHTS
Head coach Marian Carbin became the fourth coach in program history to record 100 wins. Carbin also coached her alma mater to its 24th win of the season, the most in her career and most for the program since 1997. Shellby Taylor was the fire Missouri Western needed for the win. Taylor finished the match with 22 kills, a new career-high. Kayla Ruff added to her historical career with a career-best 38 digs. Her 38 digs is the second most for a five-set match in program history.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western advanced to the MIAA Championship final on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. in Kearney, Nebraska. The Griffons will play the winner of No.7 Nebraska Kearney and No. 18 Central Missouri.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Griffon football center Max Oeser was named first team CoSIDA Academic All-District for the second year in a row.

The senior from Springfield, Missouri earned second team All-MIAA honors this season after starting 33 consecutive games at center for the Griffons over the last three seasons. Oeser was a two-time All-MIAA honoree, also earning second team honors in 2016. A four-time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll, Oeser received an MIAA Scholar-Athlete award in 2016 and is eligible for the distinction again this year. Oeser, a history major, is now eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-America.

CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors Association) began the distinguished Academic All-America program in 1952, and since then, has honored thousands of deserving student-athletes from numerous sports across all divisions with these elite Academic All-America scholar-athlete honors.

Currently, CoSIDA sponsors Academic All-America programs for men’s soccer, women’s soccer, football, volleyball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, softball and men’s and women’s track and field/cross country. Many other sports are eligible through the At-Large program.

To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his/her current institution. Nominated athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s games at the position listed on the nomination form (where applicable). No student-athlete is eligible until he/she has completed one full calendar year at his/her current institution and has reached sophomore athletic eligibility.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team lost their second overtime game of the season Wednesday night as they fell at home to William Jewell 80-74.

The Griffon drop to 1-2 this season, while the Cardinals improve to 3-0.

LATE DROUGHT HAUNTS
Missouri Western looked posed for a closeout run with 2:55 left in regulation. Cole Clearman knocked down a pair of free throws and TJ Evans hit a three-pointer on the next possession for a 5-0 Griffon run and MWUS led 71-67. However, Evans’ three would be the last MWSU points until 1:08 left in overtime. In that stretch, William Jewell went on a 9-0 run.

FREE THROW DIFFERENCE
The Cardinals had a slight edge on free-throw percentage as they shot just 1.3 percent better than the Griffons. The difference between the two teams was William Jewell got to the free-throw line 32 times compared to Missouri Western’s 14 attempts.

EASY EVANS
TJ Evans led the way for Missouri Western with 22 points, 12 of those from behind the three-point arc. Evans was 63.6 percent from the field, 57.1 percent from the three-point line and 80 percent at the free-throw line.

UP NEXT
The Griffons return to the Fieldhouse on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. to host Quincy University.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western women’s basketball rallied from a 13-point second half deficit to defeat William Jewell 67-63 Wednesday night inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

The Griffons improve to 3-0 on the season while Jewell drops to 0-1.

FIRST LEAD COMES LATE
Brittany Atkins sunk a three pointer with 1:52 remaining that put the Griffons up for the first time in the game, 60-59. Atkins’ dagger was the second-straight Griffon three in what became an 8-0 run for the Griffons. Missouri Western outscored the Cardinals 13-5 over the final 3:39 after trailing by as many as 13 points in the game.

ATKINS STAYS EFFICIENT
Atkins scored a game-high 25 points and she did it in 29 minutes. Through her first three games, the junior has scored 49 points in 62 minutes. Wednesday night, Atkins shot 46 percent (7-15) from the field and was 9-of-10 from the free throw line. As a team, Missouri Western shot better than 43 percent from the field, but allowed William Jewell to shoot 52 percent.

TURNOVER MACHINE
Through the first three games of the season, Missouri Western has forced 82 opponent turnovers – 24 Wednesday night – while giving the basketball away just 40 times. Missouri Western has 47 steals after 13 against William Jewell. Griffon opponents have just 14 steals all season.

UP NEXT
The Griffons travel to Springfield, Missouri to take on No. 7-ranked Drury on the road. Drury is 2-1 after a 93-82 loss to Southwest Baptist on Tuesday night.

— MWSU Athletics —

ADA, Okla. – Three members of the Griffon soccer team were named to the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association All-Central Region team, as voted on by communications directors in the region.

Cassidy Menke (F), Madeline Cowell (MF) and Bridget Blessie (D) were all named second team All-Region. Menke led the MIAA and shattered her own MWSU single-season record, with 15 goals this season. Cowell finished second on the team with seven assists and fourth with four goals. Blessie scored six goals, third most on the team, from her outside back position, leading the team with five game-winning goals. All three were also named first team All-MIAA and Menke was recently named CoSIDA Academic All-District.

The trio was part of a 2017 Griffon soccer team that advanced to the NCAA Division II Central Region quarterfinals. Missouri Western went 17-5, winning six more games than any previous Griffon team and nearly doubling the program record for goals in a season. The Griffons finished second in the MIAA regular season standings and runner-up in the MIAA postseason championships.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Griffon volleyball (23-9) kept its longest winning streak since 1995 alive. Missouri Western swept Washburn in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Volleyball
Championship for its 12th consecutive win.

DEFENSIVE HOLD
The Griffons put the clamps on Washburn’s attack. The Ichabods struggled in the first set, hitting -.064. In the third set, Washburn again found itself having a tough time as MWSU forced them to hit .061. For the match, WU finished with a .075 hitting percentage, the third lowest by a Missouri Western opponent.

DUST OFF THE RECORD BOOKS
It’s been awhile since the Griffons have seen success like this season. Missouri Western not only matched its longest winning streak in 22 years, it won the most games since 1997. For head coach Marian Carbin, it was her 99th career win. Her next win would make her the fourth coach in program history with 100 wins.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western advances to the semifinals of the MIAA Championships on Friday, Nov. 16. The second seeded Griffons plays third seeded and No. 13 Central Oklahoma at 5 p.m. in Kearney, Nebraska.

— MWSU Athletics —

KANSAS CITY – For the first time in her career, head coach Marian Carbin has been named MIAA Coach of the Year. Ali Tauchen was voted as the MIAA Freshman of the Year, the first time since 2010 Missouri Western has won that award. The Griffons had three first team All-MIAA selections and three second team All-MIAA selections for the 2017 season.

Carbin led her alma mater to its first ever MIAA regular season co-championship and first conference title in 30 years. Carbin guided MWSU to 20 wins or more for the third time in her five seasons as head coach. In the MIAA Coaches Preseason poll, Missouri Western was selected seventh but ended the season tied for first.

Stephanie Doak was named All-MIAA for the second straight year. This season she is first team All-MIAA after she was honorable mention in 2016. Doak had 414 kills on the season, 38 blocks and averaged 3.80 kills per set. She had double digit kills in 28 games this season and was third in the MIAA for kills per set and kills.

Lauren Murphy is first team All-MIAA for the first time in her career. Murphy led the MIAA with 1,218 assists and 11.60 assists per set. She had three matches this season that rank top five in program history for assists in a match; She is second for assists per set in a single-season as well. Murphy has been named MIAA Specialist of the Week three times in 2017.

Shellby Taylor picked up All-MIAA honors for the second time in her career. Taylor is first team All-MIAA this season and was honorable mention in 2015. She had 287 kills, averaged 2.54 kills per set and had a .255 hitting percentage on the season. In 16 matches this season, Taylor had a hitting percentage of .300 or better.

Rachel Losch was tabbed second team All-MIAA; it is the first All-MIAA honor of her career. Losch recorded 214 kills, 89 blocks, and hit .286 this season. She ranked eighth in the MIAA for hitting percentage and kills. In 15 matches this season, Losch hit .333 or higher.

Kayla Ruff received All-MIAA for the third consecutive year. Ruff is second team All-MIAA, she was honorable mention in 2015 and 2016. For the third straight season, Ruff led the team in digs with 582 and averaged 5.15 digs per set. She ranked fifth in the MIAA for digs and is fourth for digs per set. Her 582 digs this season set a new program record and she ranks second all-time in program history for career digs.

Ali Tauchen is thr Griffon’s first Freshman of the Year since Stephanie Hattey in 2010. Tauchen earned her first career All-MIAA honor as she was selected second team All-MIAA. She recorded 318 kills, 255 digs and a team-best 122 blocks. Tauchen averaged 2.81 kills per set, 2.26 digs per set and 1.08 blocks per set. She was fourth in the MIAA for blocks and fifth in blocks per set.

Coach of the Year: Marian Carbin, Missouri Western
Player of the Year: Taylor Bevis, OH, Central Oklahoma
Freshman of the Year: Ali Tauchen, MB, Missouri Western

First Team
Outside Hitter: Aubree Bell, Central Missouri
Outside Hitter: Taylor Bevis, Central Oklahoma**
Outside Hitter: Maddy Bruder, Northwest Missouri**
Outside Hitter/Right Side Hitter: Stephanie Doak, Missouri Western
Outside Hitter: Kendall Schroer, Nebraska-Kearney
Outside Hitter: Shellby Taylor, Missouri Western
Outside Hitter/Right Side Hitter: Emily Wylie, Lindenwood
Middle Blocker: Kasey Hohlen, Central Missouri
Middle Blocker: Jordan Spence, Central Oklahoma
Middle Blocker: Tara Ziegelbein, Nebraska-Kearney
Setter: Lauren Murphy, Missouri Western
Setter: Lindsey Smith, Nebraska-Kearney
Libero: Megan Hellwege, Lindenwood
Libero: Kylie Hohlen, Central Missouri

**=Unanimous selection

Second Team
Outside Hitter: Genna Berg, Washburn
Outside Hitter/Right Side Hitter: Yuchen Du, Emporia State
Outside Hitter: Julianne Jackson, Nebraska-Kearney
Outside Hitter: Erica Montgomery, Washburn
Outside Hitter: Anna Squiers, Nebraska-Kearney
Outside Hitter: Darcy Sunderman, Northwest Missouri
Middle Blocker: Audrey Fisher, Central Missouri
Middle Blocker: Tatum Graves, Emporia State
Middle Blocker: Sadie Kosciuk, Lindenwood
Middle Blocker: Rachel Losch, Missouri Western
Middle Blocker: Makayla Maxwell, Washburn
Middle Blocker: Ali Tauchen, Missouri Western
Setter: McKenzie Fyfe, Central Oklahoma
Setter: Ally Offerdahl, Central Missouri
Libero: Dominique Lipari, Central Oklahoma
Libero: Ellie McDonnell, Nebraska-Kearney
Libero: Kayla Ruff, Missouri Western

Team reflects ties in voting.

Honorable Mention
Central Missouri: Hannah VanBuskirk, OH/RS; Katie Carlson, L

Central Oklahoma: Malia Kaaiohelo, OH; Alexis Washington, MB

Emporia State: Jamie Hauptman, OH

Fort Hays State: Magan Alexander, OH; Callie Christensen, MB; Taylor White, L

Lindenwood: Alex Dahlstrom, OH; Ivy Reynolds, S

Missouri Southern: Janelle Brehm, OH; Alicia Pickett, MB; Morgan Nash

Nebraska-Kearney: Morgan Stute, L

Northwest Missouri: Sofia Schleppenbach, MB; Sarah Dannettell, S; Olivia Nowakowski, L

Pittsburg State: Lauren Regier, OH

Southwest Baptist: Bailey Baumann, L

Washburn: Allison Sadler, S; Faith Rottinghaus, L

— MWSU Athletics —