ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western soccer team fell short of a shared MIAA regular season championship, but battled with No. 1-ranked Central Missouri before losing 2-0 to the Jennies.

The Griffons fall to 15-3 and 9-2 in the MIAA, while UCM is now 18-0 and 11-0 in league play.

The win clinched an outright MIAA crown for Central Missouri, its eighth-straight regular season conference championship. The Griffons finished second in the MIAA standings and will be the No. 2 seed and host Central Oklahoma (7-9-2, 4-5-2) in the first round of this week’s MIAA Championships. That game will be at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 1.

After MWSU controlled the tempo for the early portion of Sunday’s game, Jada Scott scored her 13th goal of the season in the 35th minute off a Kayla Hammer corner kick. The Griffons kept the UCM lead to one until the 75th minute when Baylie Edwards scored off a pass deflected by Missouri Western.

Central Missouri had 13 shots to Missouri Western’s seven with five UCM shots on frame to three by the Griffons. Missouri Western did manage five corner kicks to the Jennies’ two. Cassidy Menke had three shots for the Griffons, one on goal. Both of Sydney Cluck’s shots came on frame.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western will host a postseason game for the first time in program history, Wednesday. Central Oklahoma’s loss to Missouri Southern on Sunday left the Bronchos as the No. 7 seed. Missouri Western used three second half goals to defeat Central Oklahoma 3-0 earlier this season. The first round MIAA tournament game will be Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. Per MIAA rules, a $5 admission fee will be charged to all fans over the age of six. The MIAA Championship semifinals will be played Friday, Nov. 3 at the highest remaining seed as will the championship game on Sunday, Nov. 5.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – For the first time since 2003, Griffon volleyball (18-9) swept #16 Central Missouri (20-7). Missouri Western extended its current winning streak to seven matches and clinched a home match in the MIAA tournament.

CHIPPED AWAY
Early in the first set, the Jennies looked poised to run away with the match holding a 10-5 lead. A UCM attack error midway through the set allowed the Griffons to tie the match at 16-16. Trailing 22-20, Lauren Murphy found a gap in the Jennies defense that allowed Missouri Western to win theset on a 5-0 run.

STUFFED
Missouri Western threw a block party at the net against #16 Central Missouri. The Griffons finished with 11 total blocks and outblocked the Jennies by seven total blocks. Ali Tauchen finished with 10 total blocks, second most for program history in a three-set match. Lauren Murphy and Shellby Taylor each had three block assists in the match as well.

DECISIVE DEFENSE
MWSU’s defense showed up clutch in the match. Missouri Western held Central Missouri to hit .103 in the match, its second lowest output of the season. UCM hit .098 in the first set and -.024 for the second set. The Griffons forced the Jennies to commit 34 errors, 22 attack errors and 12 service errors.

UP NEXT
The Griffons begin their final road trip of the season on Nov. 3 as they head to Joplin, Missouri for a 7 p.m. match against Missouri Southern.

— MWSU Athletics —

MARYVILLE, Mo. – A 2-0 win for the Missouri Western soccer team (15-2, 9-1) at Northwest Missouri Friday afternoon gave the Griffons a chance at a share of their first-ever MIAA regular season championship.

Anika Nobs’ first career goal in the 38th minute gave Missouri Western a 1-0 lead at Northwest. Sarah Blakley made it a 2-0 lead a little more than a minute later when she knocked in a free kick from 10 yards out. The Griffons out-shout Northwest Missouri 19-9 with nine shots on goal to Northwest’s three.

Missouri Western won its fifth-straight game, all in shutout fashion. It was the Griffons’ 12th time shutting out an opponent this season.

CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY
Missouri Western’s win set up a conference championship game for the Griffons this Sunday, Oct. 29. The Griffons remain one game behind MIAA-leading Central Missouri and host the Jennies Sunday at noon. Central Missouri is undefeated and leads MWSU by one game in the standings, so Western will have a chance to share share of the conference championship with a win. Sunday’s game begins at noon and will be broadcast on the radio at ESPN 1550 and you can click here to listen.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Griffon volleyball (17-9) extended their winning streak to six matches with a 3-1 victory over Lindenwood (15-12) in the MWSU Fieldhouse. Missouri Western clinched its spot in the MIAA postseason tournament and is currently tied with #13 Central Oklahoma for second in the MIAA standings.

ACE OF CHOICE
The service line was Missouri Western’s weapon of attack in the match. MWSU recorded nine service aces in the four set victory, which tied for the most this season. Kayla Ruff led the way with her season best three aces. Amanda Dalbey added two aces and Shellby Taylor recorded her first ace of the season.

NAIL-BITTER
The second set provided free volleyball for the fans in the stands as MWSU fought off two set points to win the set. Facing a potential 2-0 match deficit, Missouri Western fought off the first set point with a Rachel Losch kill to even the score 24-24. Shellby Taylor gave life to the Griffons when they needed it most, down to the second set point 25-24. Taylor smashed a kill to tie the match at 25-25 then served an ace for the next point. The teams traded points to 27-27 before Lauren Murphy and Stephanie Doak both landed kills for the 29-27 set win that evened the match a 1-1

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT
After fighting back to win the second set, MWSU dominated the final two sets. The Griffons hit .333 with only five errors in the last two sets compared to a .170 hitting percentage with 10 errors in the first two sets. Defensively, Missouri Western limited Lindenwood to hit .189 in the third set and .086 in the fourth set.

UP NEXT
The Griffons host #16 Central Missouri on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. in the MWSU Fieldhouse. The match could have a sufficient impact on seeding for the MIAA postseason tournament. With a win, MWSU would move two matches ahead of UCM in the standings with just four matches remaining.

— MWSU Athletics —

The Missouri Western women’s soccer team moved up three spots to No. 3 in the latest NCAA Division II Central Regional rankings.

The Griffons, who are 14-2 this season and 8-1 in the MIAA, are behind Central Missouri and Bemidji State in the regional rankings. Minnesota State is No. 4, followed by Northeastern State and Augustana.

The top six teams in the regional rankings will qualify for the NCAA Tournament as there are two weeks left before the selection show. This is the highest regional ranking in MWSU school history as they’ve never qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

Missouri Western will try and add to its resume this weekend as they play at Northwest Missouri State Friday at 3:00 p.m. Then the Griffons close out the regular season Sunday at home against No. 1 Central Missouri at Noon.

MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Missouri Western volleyball team rallied to defeat Northwest Missouri State in five set Tuesday 25-22, 18-25, 17-25, 25-16, 15-5.

The Griffons have won five straight matches and nine of their last ten. MWSU is now 16-9 and 10-2 in the MIAA, while the Bearcats falls to 13-11 and 7-5 in league play.

RALLY WHEN IT MATTERED
Tied 7-7 in the fourth set, an Ali Tauchen kill ignited a 7-2 rally to take a 14-9 lead in the set and Missouri Western never looked back. MWSU closed out the fourth set on a 5-0 rally to win 25-15. The momentum carried over to the fifth set as the Griffons dominated and ended the match with 12-2 run to win the set 15-5.

LIVING ON THE EDGE
In its five match win streak, Missouri Western has been pushed to five sets in the three of the matches. Prior to that stretch, MWSU did not have a match go more than four sets.

ONE-SIDED RIVALRY
The Griffons swept the season series for the fifth time in the last six seasons and have won three straight matches against the Bearcats. MWSU has also won the last five meetings at Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Missouri. After 94 meetings between the two teams, Missouri Western leads the all-time series 70-24.

UP NEXT
The Griffons return to the MWSU Fieldhouse on Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. against Lindenwood.

— MWSU Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the second week in a row, Missouri Western soccer’s Bridget Blessie was named MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week.

The senior scored two game-winning goals this past weekend as Missouri Western shutout both Washburn and Emporia State on the road. Blessie scored the Griffons’ only goal, Friday, at Washburn off a Madeline Cowell corner kick. Her penalty kick in the first half at Emporia State, Sunday, gave MWSU its first of three goals in the game. She and the rest of the Griffon defenders limited opponents to just five combined shots on goal. On the season, Blessie has scored five goals with two assists for 12 total points.

Missouri Western is 14-2 and 8-1 in the MIAA heading into the final weekend of the regular season. The Griffons play at Northwest Missouri on Oct. 27 and host No. 1 Central Missouri on Oct. 29. Blessie and seven other seniors will be recognized, Sunday, in the final regular season home game for the team. Just one game behind first place Central Missouri, a lot is yet to be determined this week, but the Griffons have clinched a home game in the first round of the MIAA Championships. That game will be played Wednesday, Nov. 1

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western volleyball (15-9) received votes in the Oct. 23 AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll. The Griffons are tied for second place in the MIAA after they won eight of the last nine matches, including four straight heading into the match with rival Northwest Missouri. MWSU is one of 14 teams from the Central region that were either ranked or received votes in the latest AVCA poll. The Central region consists of three conferences, the Northern Sun, Great American and MIAA.

SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 94th meeting between the two rivals. The Griffons lead the all-time series 69-24 over the Bearcats and have won the last four matches in Maryville, Missouri.

LAST MEETING: The Griffons swept the Bearcats, which started their eight wins in nine matches, on Tuesday, Sept. 26 in the MWSU Fieldhouse. Stephanie Doak and Ali Tauchen combined for 25 kills in the match as MWSU finished with 47 kills as a team. Lauren Murphy finished with 42 assists in the victory as well. Defensively, Rachel Losch had a match-high four blocks and Kayla Ruff added a match-best 15 digs.

UP NEXT: Missouri Western returns to the MWSU Fieldhouse for Dig Pink weekend with a match on Friday, Oct. 27 against Lindenwood at 6 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

EMPORIA, Kan. – The Missouri Western soccer team clinched the program’s first-ever home postseason game with a 3-0 win at Emporia State Sunday afternoon. The Griffons improve to 14-2 this season and 8-1 in the MIAA.

MWSU’s 11th shutout of the season guaranteed the team will play its first round MIAA Tournament game on Craig Field at Spratt Memorial Stadium, Wednesday, Nov. 1.

With two more regular season games remaining, the Griffons are all alone in second place in the MIAA standings, just one game and three points behind Central Missouri.

SPREADING THE LOVE
Three different Griffons scored goals in Sunday’s game, including the first goal of the season for Ashlyn Powers. Bridget Blessie scored her fifth goal of the season and her third in the last four games in the 25th minute on a penalty kick. Powers got her first goal since her freshman season in 2014 on a shot from 25 yards out in the 48th minute off Sydney Cluck’s MIAA-leading eighth assist of the season. Cassidy Menke just squeaked in her 14th goal of the season with 10 seconds remaining in the game. Even with Menke’s MIAA-leading goal total, MWSU has received scores from 11 different Griffons this year, seven different Griffs have scored multiple goals.

RESERVE KEEPERS STEP UP
Reigning MIAA Goalkeeper of the Week Sarah Lyle was away from the team for personal matters this weekend and the team didn’t skip a beat. Lexie Martin and Ally Barb combined for the Sunday shutout after Martin blanked Washburn on Friday. Martin was credited with all three Missouri Western saves, Sunday. The Griffons out-shot the Hornets 18-6 and 8-3 on goal.

ROAD WARRIORS
After Sunday, the Griffons are 5-0 in MIAA road games this season and have not allowed a goal away from home in conference play. Overall, the team is 8-1 on the road with the only loss coming in a non-conference game at Central Missouri. On the season, MWSU has outscored opponents 17-4 in road games and 10-0 in MIAA road games.

UP NEXT
The final two regular season games of 2017 come next week. It begins Friday at Northwest Missouri State (6-8, 3-5). Senior Day comes on Sunday, Oct. 29, as the Griffons host current No. 1-ranked Central Missouri (15-0, 8-0).

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – For the second straight week the Griffon football offense struggled to find a rhythm and the team suffered its second-straight loss, 38-10 to No. 8-ranked Fort Hays State (8-0).

Missouri Western (4-4) trailed just 14-10 with 52 seconds remaining in the second quarter, but a six-play, 72-yard Fort Hays State drive at the end of the second quarter started a string of 24 unanswered Fort Hays State points.

The Griffons were held to 188 total yards of offense while allowing 450. Most of Fort Hays State’s offense came on big plays. The Tigers had a pass play of 67 yards and rushes of 43, 34 and 31 yards. The Griffon defense forced seven Fort Hays State punts, but two lost fumbles and an interception gave the Tigers extra opportunities. The defense also picked up 13 tackles for loss and four sacks on the day.

QUARTERBACK CAROUSEL
Skyler Windmiller returned at quarterback for the Griffons, who have now started three different quarterbacks in the last three games. Dom Marino still had not been cleared to play for Saturday’s game and Corey Bertini was still in concussion protocol. Windmiller hadn’t played since suffering an injury in the fourth quarter of the season opener at Nebraska Kearney. The senior completed 13-of-29 passes for 132 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He was sacked four times.

RUNNING GAME HELD IN CHECK
After leading the MIAA in rushing through the first six weeks of the season, the Griffons have been held under 100 yards in the last two games. Fort Hays State held the Griffons to just 56 net rushing yards. Joshua Caldwell carried the ball 13 times for 72 yards himself. Shamar Griffith added 16 rushing yards and Derek Gray Jr. had 13. The team total was negated by four sacks.

UP NEXT
Homecoming at Missouri Western is next Saturday, Oct. 27 when the Griffons host Washburn (5-3) for a 2 p.m. kickoff.

— MWSU Athletics —