ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Volleyball (12-10) dominated William Jewell (5-17) in a three-set victory that also saw Stephanie Doak become the most recent member of Missouri Western’s 1,000-kill club.  MWSU won 25-13, 25-17, 25-14.

Needing 12 kills to get to 1,000 before the match, Doak entered the third set needing one more and got it quick in the third set, prompting a timeout by Marian Carbin so her junior outside hitter could be recognized.

NOTABLES

• Doak ended the night with 17 kills and a .440 hitting percentage and became the first Griffon to 1,000 kills since Jessie Thorup (1,176, 2012-15)
• Shellby Taylor is in position to be the next Griff to 1,000 kills with 971 in her career
• The Griffons hit .319 as a team and held William Jewell to an .061 hitting percentage
• Missouri Western had an 82 percent sideout percentage, including 92 percent in the first set
• The Griffs hit .531 in the first, winning 25-13
• William Jewell didn’t score more than 17 (second set)

LEADERS

• Doak’s 17 kills were the most by any player
• Ali Tauchen had seven kills while Sam Duncan, Shellby Taylor and Rachel Losch each had five
• Liv Winker led the team with 22 assists while Lauren Murphy added 13
• Tiana Butler and Lindsey Hartline each had two aces
• Audrey Keim led the team with 16 digs
• Tauchen also led the team with three blocks

UP NEXT

• A weekend road trip to No. 9 Washburn (21-0) on Friday and Emporia State (10-12) Saturday.

  — MWSU Athletics —

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO SUNDANCE WICKS AT MIAA MEDIA DAY

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Missouri Western Men’s Basketball was picked 12th in the MIAA Preseason Media Poll and 14th in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

Both polls were released Tuesday morning as MIAA Basketball Media Day began at the College Basketball Experience in Kansas City.

The 2018-19 Griffons will be led by first-year head coach Sundance Wicks and feature a roster of six returners and 11 newcomers. That group of returners is highlighted by 2017-18 All-MIAA honorable mention selection Lavon Hightower. As a junior, Hightower led Missouri Western with 16.1 points per game. Hightower averaged more than 20 per contest over the team’s final 10 games of the season.

The season begins for Missouri Western a week earlier than nearly all other NCAA members with MWSU and the City of St. Joseph hosting the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, Nov. 3rd and 4th at Civic Arena in St. Joseph. Tickets are on sale now for the premier preseason Division II classic in the nation.

MIAA Coaches Poll
1. Missouri Southern (6) – 157
2. Northwest Missouri (7) – 155
3. Washburn (1) – 132
4. Central Missouri – 128
T-5. Central Oklahoma – 118
T-5. Pittsburg State – 118
7. Fort Hays State – 104
8. Lindenwood – 87
9. Lincoln – 68
10. Nebraska Kearney – 66
11. Emporia State – 47
12. Northeastern State – 40
13. Southwest Baptist – 30
14. Missouri Western – 24

Media Poll
1. Northwest Missouri (6) – 262
2. Missouri Southern (10) – 261
3. Washburn (3) – 237
4. Central Missouri – 225
5. Pittsburg State (1) – 212
6. Fort Hays State (1) – 208
7. Central Oklahoma – 163
8. Lindenwood – 150
9. Nebraska Kearney – 123
10. Lincoln – 119
11. Emporia State – 79
T-12. Missouri Western – 66
T-12. Southwest Baptist – 66
14. Northeastern State – 35

— MWSU Athletics —

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO ROB EDMISSON AT MIAA MEDIA DAY

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Both the MIAA coaches and media expect a much improved Missouri Western Women’s Basketball team in 2018-19. The Griffons were picked in a sixth-place tie with Pittsburg State in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and eighth in the MIAA Preseason Media Poll.

Both polls were released Tuesday morning during MIAA Basketball Media Day at the College Basketball Experience in Kansas City. A year ago the Griffons finished 12th in the MIAA regular season standings before two historical upsets vaulted the injury depleted Griffons into the semifinals of the MIAA Championships.

Seventh-year MWSU head coach Rob Edmisson will look to mold nine returners with six newcomers. The list of returners includes 2017-18 MIAA honorable mention selections Melia Richardson, Dossou Ndiaye and Cera Ledbetter. Richardson posted career-high numbers last season while Ndiaye and Ledbetter combined to give the Griffons a lethal combination in the post.

The Griffons open the 2018-19 season with an exhibition game at Mizzou on Oct. 29 before the regular season opener against Upper Iowa in Hays, Kansas on Nov. 9.

Coaches Poll
1. Central Missouri (13) – 169
2. Fort Hays State (1) – 154
3. Emporia State – 131
4. Washburn – 126
5. Central Oklahoma -113
t-6. Missouri Western – 104
t-6. Pittsburg State – 104
8. Lindenwood – 90
9. Nebraska Kearney – 73
10. Missouri Southern – 63
11. Southwest Baptist – 61
12. Northeastern State – 42
13. Northwest Missouri – 31
14. Lincoln – 13

Media Poll
1. Central Missouri (20) – 291
2. Fort Hays State (1) – 265
3. Washburn – 220
4. Emporia State – 216
5. Pittsburg State – 203
T-6. Central Oklahoma – 177
T-6. Lindenwood – 177
8. Missouri Western – 159
9. Nebraska Kearney – 146
10. Southwest Baptist – 113
11. Missouri Southern – 88
12. Northwest Missouri – 68
13. Northeastern State – 59
14. Lincoln – 23

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – After roughly four hours of weather delay, Missouri Western Men’s Golf finally began play at the Holiday Inn Express Classic at the St. Joseph Country Club. The Griffons ended the first round tied for second in the team standings with an overall score of three-over par.

Lucas Horseman leads all 100 golfers with his first round score of 67. He currently sits at -4 and two strokes ahead of the next best finisher. Horseman leads the event in par-three scoring (-3) and is the only golfer with two eagles in the round.

Joining Horseman in the top-10 is Tom Buffington. Buffington’s 71 even-par performance lands him tied for ninth place.

Patrick McCarthy is tied for 14th with a 72. McCarthy has gained ground on some of the longer holes as he has the second-best par-five scoring in the tournament (-3).

Cole Roberts ended the first round plus-two with a 73.

The field barely managed to finish the first round after more rainfall came down towards the end of play. As of Monday night, the Holiday Inn Express Classic is scheduled to tee off again on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. For information regarding delays or cancellations, look for updates released on GoGriffons.com.

— MWSU Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Missouri Western sophomore Sam Aviles has filled in quite nicely for the injured Tyler Basch. In his second week of action, the sophomore kicker was named MIAA Special Teams Athlete of the Week.

Aviles was 4-of-5 on field goal attempts Saturday in Missouri Western football’s 33-10 win at Missouri Southern. His only miss was from 57 yards out as time expired in the first half. The Smithville, Missouri native also went 3-for-3 on point after attempts and averaged 56 yards per kickoff with two touchbacks. On the season, Aviles is 5-of-6, handling all place kicking duties the last two weeks while Basch sat out with an injury.

The award gave Griffon Football three MIAA weekly awards in the past two weeks after Dom Marino was named MIAA Co-Offensive Athlete of the Week and Kobe Cummings picked up Defensive Athlete of the Week honors last week. It also gave Missouri Western its second MIAA Special Teams Athlete of the Week honor. Brandin Dandridge got the award in week two after a big punt return performance against Fort Hays State.

— MWSU Athletics —

KEARNEY, Neb. – Missouri Western Soccer improved to 8-4 (3-2 MIAA) following its road win at Nebraska Kearney (5-7, 3-2 MIAA) on Sunday. The Griffons came back to defeat the Lopers 2-1 to earn the weekend split.

NOTABLES

• The Griffons fell down 1-0 in the 34^th minute but only trailed for nine minutes before tying the game at 1-1.
• Cassidy Menke tied the game after her goal from 25 yards out near the end of the first half.
• Danny Walsh assisted Menke for the game-winning goal in the 62^nd minute to put the Griffons up 2-1.
• Missouri Western avoided dropping back-to-back games after Sunday’s win. The Griffons have not lost back-to-back regular season games since October 14, 2016.

STATS AND LEADERS

• After her two-goal performance on Sunday, Menke is tied for third in the MIAA in goals scored (8).
• Neither team was able to create many shot opportunities. Missouri Western and Nebraska Kearney each finished with just six shots.
• Sunday was Menke’s second two-goal game of the season, her first coming in a win against Emporia State on September 28.
• Anna Mayer recorded three saves in the win.

UP NEXT

• The Griffons continue road play as they travel to Southwest Baptist (0-10-2) on October 12.
• The Bearcats played two close matches over the weekend. They tied Washburn 2-2 on Friday before losing 1-0 to Emporia State on Sunday.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Four field goals and a third-straight 200-yard rushing performance helped Griffon Football (4-2) to its third-straight win, Saturday. The Griffons picked up their first road win of the season, 33-10 at Missouri Southern (0-6).

The defense has had its days. The offense was explosive for two straight weeks. Saturday, special teams helped the team match its season win total from the past two seasons.

NOTABLES

• The game was delayed an hour due to lightning
• Sam Aviles – replacing the injured Tyler Basch for the second week in a row – kicked four field goals on five attempts, scoring almost half the Griffons’ points in the game
• After a couple weeks of the offense shining, it was the defense’s turn, holding Southern to just 4.5 yards per play and four turnovers
• As a team, the Griffons rushed for 284 yards, averaging 7.3 yards per carry
• Missouri Western picked off two Missouri Southern passes to give the team 10 on the season, most in the MIAA
• The Griffon defense limited Missouri Southern to 161 yards on the ground, just a 3.7-yard per carry average

OTHER STATS & LEADERS

• Aviles totaled 15 points in the game with four made field goals and three extra points. The sophomore kicker also averaged more than 56 yards per kickoff with two touchbacks
• Shamar Griffith had a career-high 119 yards rushing, including an 86-yard run on the first play from scrimmage. It gave the Griffons three consecutive games with a running back over 100 yards
• Arnold Crayton scored his first career touchdown on a 21-yard fumble recovery return for a touchdown
• Marcus Brown forced two fumbles, had two tackles for loss and six tackles
• Kobe Cummings led the team for a second straight week with 12 tackles. The freshman also recovered a fumble
• Luke Theis averaged 45.3 yards per punt and downed all three of his punts inside the Missouri Southern 20-yard line
• Brandin Dandridge had 83 punt return yards on three returns that included a long of 58

UP NEXT

• Homecoming on Oct. 13 against Central Oklahoma (3-3) at 1 p.m.
• UCO defeated Central Missouri 33-26, Saturday, in Edmond

— MWSU Athletics —