BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – Griffon volleyball split a pair of games in the opening day of the Ferris State Invitational. Missouri Western fell in the first game to #14 Ferris State 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-18) and swept Davenport in game two 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-21).

FORCEFUL ATTACKS
In its sweep of Davenport, MWSU hammered 50 kills as a team. Shellby Taylor finished with a match-high 13 kills as Ali Tauchen added 12 kills for the Griffons. Taylor also had a hitting percentage of .440 as Tauchen finished the match hitting .320.

STAYING ALIVE
With a 1-0 match lead, MWSU found itself in a tough spot late in the second set, down 24-23. Stephanie Doak provided a saving kill to tie the set at 24 and keep the Griffons alive. Back-to-back errors from the Panthers allowed Missouri Western to win the set 26-24 and take a 2-0 match lead. The second set would be the only scare DU would provide in the match.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Newcomers Ali Tauchen and Mikayla Sellers-Wiebe made their first appearances for Missouri Western memorable. The duo led the team with a combined 15 kills in game one against FSU. Tauchen and Sellers-Wiebe would not be a one-hit wonder as they combined for 19 kills in game two.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western wraps up the Ferris State Invitation on Saturday, Sept. 2 with a pair of matches. The Griffons open with Grand Valley State at 11 a.m. CST and close out the day with Northern Michigan at 3 p.m. CST.

— MWSU Athletics —

KEARNEY, Neb. – A strong defensive effort was overshadowed by offensive miscues in a 14-3 season opening loss at Nebraska-Kearney for the Missouri Western football team and first-year head coach Matt Williamson.

The Griffon defense limited UNK to just seven points and 270 yards, but the MWSU offense mustered just 209 yards, including 37 yards rushing after rushing for 329 against the Lopers last season. The loss snapped a streak of eight-straight wins over Nebraska-Kearney for the Griffons.

DEFENSE SHOWS UP
The Missouri Western defense allowed just one touchdown in the game and held UNK to 120 yards on the ground and 137 yards passing. UNK’s lone touchdown drive was just a six-play, 59-yard drive in the second quarter. MWSU sacked UNK quarterback Steve Worthington twice and broke up three passes. Jonathan Owens and Anthony Williams each had eight tackles. Darrian Bass had seven tackles and 1.5 sacks.

COSTLY PENALTIES
Missouri Western actually had two less penalties than UNK, with seven total, but those went for 85 yards – 10 more than the Lopers. Some came at costly times as well, including two early penalties that negated what would have been third down conversions that ended up resulting in punts.

WINDMILLER INJURED
Senior quarterback Skyler Windmiller exited the game on what wound up being Missouri Western’s final offensive drive of the season. After a promising drive that saw Windmiller complete four of his first six passes to get the Griffons from their own 15 to their own 34, he was sacked for a nine yard loss and fell hard on his left shoulder. Corey Bertini finished the drive and the game for MWSU at quarterback. Windmiller was 14-33 with one interception that was returned for a touchdown and 131 yards. Bertini went 4-8 for 41 yards.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western hosts Missouri Southern on Thursday, Sept. 7 at Spratt Memorial Stadium. Missouri Southern lost 48-7 at home Thursday night to Fort Hays State.

— MWSU Athletics —-

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In the fourth annual MIAA Men’s and Women’s Golf poll Central Missouri sits atop the men’s coaches selections while 2017 MIAA Champion Northeastern State earns the top slot in the women’s poll.

In the men’s poll Central Oklahoma, who claimed the 2017 MIAA men’s title, earned the second place spot just nine points behind the Mules while earning two first place votes. Lindenwood was picked third just three points ahead of Washburn who the coaches selected in fourth place. Northeastern State was fifth coming in seven points ahead of Missouri Southern who was sixth.

Just three points behind the Lions were Missouri Western while Nebraska-Kearney earned the eighth spot in the coaches poll. Southwest Baptist was ninth, Lincoln was tenth, and Fort Hays State rounded out the eleven.

In the women’s poll, Central Oklahoma grabbed three first place votes to earn the second spot coming in ninth points behind the RiverHawks. Lindenwood was four points behind them in third place while Missouri Western was selected to finish in fourth. Coming in four points back of the Griffons was Central Missouri who was picked fifth.

Northwest Missouri was sixth five points ahead of Nebraska-Kearney who was picked seventh, and 10 points ahead of Fort Hays State who was eighth. Southwest Baptist and Lincoln rounded out the preseason top-10 respectively.

The league season will culminate on April 23-25, 2018 as the teams hit the links in the MIAA Tournament with the men playing at Sycamore Ridge Golf Course in Spring Hill, Kan. and women playing at Swope Memorial Golf Course in Kansas City, Mo.

2017 MIAA Preseason Men’s Coaches Poll
1. Central Missouri (9) 99
2. Central Oklahoma (2) 90
3. Lindenwood 78
4. Washburn 75
5. Northeastern State 59
6. Missouri Southern 52
7. Missouri Western 49
8. Nebraska-Kearney 36
9. Southwest Baptist 30
10. Lincoln 21
11. Fort Hays State 16

2017 MIAA Preseason Women’s Coaches Poll
1. Northeastern State (7) 79
2. Central Oklahoma (3) 70
3. Lindenwood 66
4. Missouri Western 57
5. Central Missouri 53
6. Northwest Missouri 38
7. Nebraska-Kearney 33
8. Fort Hays State 28
9. Southwest Baptist 16
10. Lincoln 10

— MIAA Press Release —

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Missouri Western was picked seventh by the coaches and eighth by the media in the MIAA preseason football polls.

Defending MIAA and national champion Northwest Missouri was tabbed first in both polls, followed by Emporia State and Central Missouri, respectively. The top-six remained the same in both polls with the coaches slotting MWSU seventh, and the media picking Central Oklahoma to be one spot better than the Griffons. The only other difference between the polls was a flip-flop of Missouri Southern and Northeastern State for the 10th and 11th spots.

2017 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Northwest Missouri (9) – 118
2. Emporia State (2) – 108
3. Central Missouri (1) – 106
4. Pittsburg State – 88
5. Fort Hays State – 83
6. Washburn – 71
7. Missouri Western – 58
8. Central Oklahoma – 51
9. Lindenwood – 37
10. Northeastern State – 31
11. Missouri Southern – 24
12. Nebraska-Kearney – 17

2017 MIAA Preseason Media Poll
1. Northwest Missouri (36) – 464
2. Emporia State (3) – 421
3. Central Missouri – 383
4. Pittsburg State – 347
5. Fort Hays State – 316
6. Washburn – 262
7. Central Oklahoma – 227
8. Missouri Western – 215
9. Lindenwood – 145
10. Missouri Southern – 108
11. Northeastern State – 102
12. Nebraska-Kearney – 52

The coaches have the Griffons slotted where the team finished after a 4-7 season in 2016. The 2017 Griffons will feature an entirely new coaching staff, including first-year head coach Matt Williamson, but the team will have more than 18 players who started games a season ago.

Headlining that group of returners is 2016 first team All-MIAA running back Joshua Caldwell. In his sophomore season, Caldwell led the MIAA with 1,408 rushing yards. Virtually all the offensive skill position starters from last year are back, including Skyler Windmiller who enters his senior season ranked in the top-five of several career passing statistics. Defensively, five 2016 All-MIAA selections are back, including leading tackler and second team All-MIAA selection Donte Watkins.

The 2017 season kicks off in Kearney, Nebraska for Missouri Western. The Griffons open at Nebraska-Kearney under the lights at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 31. The home opener is Sept. 1 against Missouri Southern.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Four finalists to be the next director of athletics at Missouri Western State University will visit campus beginning July 17. All four of the candidates are currently athletic directors at other NCAA Division II universities.

“We have an amazing pool of candidates to choose from, reflecting the current strength and future potential of our Department of Athletics,” said Dr. Jeanne Daffron, provost and vice president for academic affairs and chair of the search committee. “The committee is excited to enter the next phase of the search process, and we believe others on campus and in the community will be as impressed as we have been by the quality of these individuals.”

The four candidates will spend the day meeting with a number of groups on campus, and each will give a public presentation on their vision for the future of Missouri Western athletics.

“I think that we have an exceptional list of candidates,” said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president. “In fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever had a more qualified and experienced group of candidates as finalists for a cabinet-level position like this. To have four successful sitting Division II athletic directors as finalists is pretty remarkable. I look forward to getting to know them better during the interview process.”

The finalists are:

– Josh Looney, director of athletics at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania. Looney previously worked for the NCAA, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Orlando Magic. He will be on campus Monday, July 17, with a public presentation at 2 p.m. in the Hearnes Center, room 102.

– David Miller, director of athletics at Upper Iowa University. Miller was previously athletic director at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and has worked at Southern Methodist University, Ohio University, Truman State University and the U.S. Air Force Academy. He will be on campus Thursday, July 20, with a public presentation at 2 p.m. in the Hearnes Center, room 102.

– Marty Bell, vice president for intercollegiate athletics/director of athletics and men’s basketball coach at Quincy University in Illinois. Bell was previously an assistant basketball coach at Drake University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Lock Haven University and a graduate assistant at the University of South Carolina. He will be on campus Monday, July 24, with a public presentation at 1:45 p.m. in the Hearnes Center, room 102.

– Todd Thurman, director of athletics at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Thurman was previously head men’s basketball coach at Southwestern and at Wayland Baptist University, and assistant coach at Southern Nazarene University, Oklahoma Christian University and the University of Central Oklahoma. He will be on campus Wednesday, July 26, with a public presentation at 2 p.m. in the Hearnes Center, room 102.

Missouri Western seeks to replace Kurt McGuffin, who left last month after five years at the helm to become director of athletics at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Patsy Smith will serve as the interim director of athletics at Missouri Western State University.

“Patsy Smith is a Griffon through and through, having been a part of Missouri Western athletics as a student-athlete, coach and administrator,” said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president. “I have the utmost confidence she will provide excellent leadership to the department while we complete the search for our next athletic director.”

“I feel honored that Dr. Vartabedian has asked me to serve as the interim director of athletics at Missouri Western State University,” Smith said. “Having served in this role previously, I am confident our coaches and staff will continue to do a great job, and this will provide for an easy transition.”

Smith officially retired from Missouri Western in July of 2014 after serving various roles in the department since 1994. At the time of her retirement, she served as senior associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator. She continued to serve part-time as athletic business manager until March of 2017.

Smith began her career at Missouri Western in the fall of 1990 as a tennis student-athlete and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in accounting in 1995.

In 1994, Smith became the head women’s tennis coach and led the team to its first ever NCAA Tournament in 1998. That same year, she became the first athletics business manager at Missouri Western. She has served in the roles of compliance and academics, director of finance, assistant athletics director and finally senior associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator before retiring from full-time employment in 2014.

Smith served on the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee for tennis and the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee for women’s basketball. She also served on the NCAA Championships Committee for six years and was chairperson of the Institutional Representative Council for the MIAA at the time of her retirement.

In the St. Joseph community, Smith co-chaired the YWCA Women of Excellence Luncheon and is a member of their finance committee. She was also a member of the St. Joseph Junior League for 10 years.

Smith takes over for Kurt McGuffin, who left after five years at Missouri Western to become director of athletics at the University of Tennessee-Martin. Dr. Vartabedian hopes to name McGuffin’s permanent successor by the end of July.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Two Missouri Western student-athletes were among the 117 Division II nominees for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year.

Kelsey Olion (volleyball) and Morgan Rathmann (softball) were Missouri Western’s nominees. A record 543 female athletes were nominated across all three divisions.

Olion, who recently graduated with a degree in biochemistry/molecular biology, was a four-time MIAA Academic Excellence Award recipient, maintaining a 4.0 cumulative GPA throughout her time at Missouri Western. On the court, Olion was named All-MIAA three times including a second team selection as a senior in 2016.

Rathmann will graduate with a degree in English education and was also a four-time MIAA Academic Excellence Award winner. Rathmann was also named second team CoSIDA Academic All-America following her senior season and was a four-time All-MIAA selection, including first team honors in 2016 and 2017.

The NCAA encourages member schools to honor their top graduating female student-athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award.

Next, conferences will select up to two conference nominees each from the pool of school nominees. The Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will then choose the top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.

From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three honorees from each division and announces the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics then chooses the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine.

The top 30 honorees will be recognized and the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 22 in Indianapolis.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western seniors Nick Gawley and David Glaude from the Griffon baseball team were named 2017 ABCA/Rawlings Second Team All-Region.

Nick Gawley led Missouri Western on the season with a .364 batting average, 79 hits, 46 runs scored, 39 stolen bases and 18 doubles. His 39 stolen bases were a single season record, third best in division II and sixth in all NCAA divisions. He also ranked second on the team with 36 RBIs and 21 walks.

David Glaude earned his second straight ABCA/Rawlings All-Region honor as he led the team with 114 total bases, 47 RBIs, 29 walks and eight home runs. He was second to Gawley with a .340 batting average, 73 hits, 44 runs scored and 13 doubles. Glaude also broke MWSU career records for home runs, RBIs, doubles and walks this season.

Both senior started all 54 games for Missouri Western as it qualified for its second consecutive NCAA Central Regional. The all-region teams are voted on by members of the American Baseball Coaches Association and the process is led by the ABCA NCAA Div. II All-America Committee.

— MWSU Athletics —