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Category: Sports

Missouri Western soccer shuts out Northwest Friday 2-0

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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 —

Northwest Missouri State drops exhibition game at Duke 93-60

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– The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team fell to Duke University, 93-60, on Friday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.
– The game was played as exhibition contest for both teams.
– The Bearcats trailed, 56-30, at the break.
– Starting in 2009, Duke University has invited the Division II national champion for an annual exhibition game.

Key Northwest Statistics
– The Bearcats hit 12 three pointers and limited Duke to just 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
– Northwest grabbed nine offensive rebounds and forced the Blue Devils into 15 turnovers.
– Duke had just three steals and were 5-of-9 from the charity stripe.
– The Bearcat bench outscored the Blue Devil bench, 25-21.
– Ryan Hawkins scored a team-high 14 points with three rebounds, an assist and a steal. He was 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
– Joey Witthus scored 12 points, hitting four three-pointers.
– Chris-Ebou Ndow had 10 points with a pair of rebounds and a steal.
– Justin Pitts had seven points with four assists, three steals and a rebound.
– Brett Dougherty grabbed a team high six rebounds to go along with three assists and a steal.

Key Northwest Sequence
– Ndow gave Northwest its only lead of the game early in the game. Duke scored the first point of the contest on a free throw by Marvin Bagley III. The Bearcat defense then stopped the Blue Devils by forcing a pair of turnovers. On Northwest’s third possession, Witthus missed a three but Brett Dougherty grabbed an offensive rebound and found Ndow for a three pointer, making it a 3-1 Bearcat lead.

– With Northwest trailing 14-5, Witthus nailed a three off an assist from Ryan Welty to make it a six point game. On the next sequence, Pitts came up with a steal on Grayson Allen. Welty grabbed an offensive rebound and drew a foul. He hit both free throws to pull the Bearcats within four, 14-10.

Up Next
– The Bearcats begin the season on Friday, Nov. 10, against Upper Iowa at 1 p.m. in St. Joseph, Mo. Northwest’s first action will be on Friday, Nov. 17, against Metro State at 7 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

MWSU volleyball defeats Lindenwood for sixth straight win

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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 —

Bearcat volleyball upsets No. 16 Central Missouri

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– The Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team defeated Central Missouri, 3-1, on Friday at Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Mo.
– Northwest improves to 14-11 on the year and 8-5 in MIAA play. The No. 16 ranked Jennies fall to 20-6 overall and 10-3 in conference action.
– Maddy Bruder had a match-high 21 kills, hitting .327 for the match. She added 13 digs, two blocks and a two assists in the victory.

Key Northwest Statistics
– The Bearcats took the first set, 25-21, but dropped the second, 25-19. Northwest took the lead in the third set with a 25-19 win and closed out the match with a 25-21 set four victory.
– Northwest hit .270 for the match, hitting .375 in the first set.
– The Bearcats had eight service aces and nine blocks.
– Hallie Sidney hit .500 with 15 kills and no attacking errors. The freshman added four digs and a block.
– Olivia Nowakowski added 26 digs with a six assists and a pair of service aces.
– Sofia Schleppenbach had six block assists and a solo block. She added four digs, three kills and had a pair of service aces.
– Maddy Ahrens had 24 assists with six digs and three service aces.
– Sarah Dannettell had 21 assists with six digs, five kills and three blocks.
– Katelyn McKinnis had six digs defensively and added a service ace.

Key Northwest Sequence
– Tied, 19-19, in the first set, Northwest rallied to score six of the next eight points to take an early 1-0 set lead. Bruder had back-to-back kills to give the Bearcats a 21-19 lead. A service error pulled the Jennies back to within one, 21-20, but Schleppenbach came up with a kill and UCM missed on an attack, making it a 23-20 Northwest advantage, forcing a timeout. UCM would get another kill to make it 23-21, but a service error gave the Bearcats set point and Sidney put away a kill to give Northwest the set.

– UCM pushed hard for a fifth set, taking a 20-19 lead late in the fourth off a kill form Audrey Fisher. But Northwest responded by tying the match with a kill from Morgan Lewis. The Jennies came up with another kill to take a 21-20 lead but that would be the last point UCM would score in the match. Bruder put away a kill and Nowakowski added a service ace to make it 22-21 Northwest. After a Jennie timeout, Bruder recorded back-to-back kills to give the Bearcats match point, forcing UCM’s second timeout. The Jennies hit into a block from Bruder and Schleppenbach to end the match.

Up Next
– Northwest will host Lindenwood on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Bearcat Arena.

— Northwest Athletics —

Missouri Western soccer moves up to No. 3 in Central Regional rankings

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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.

Griffon volleyball rallies to win at Northwest Missouri State in five sets

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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 —

MWSU’s Blessie named MIAA Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week

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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 —

Missouri State picked to win the Valley; Johnson named preseason Player of the Year

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ST. LOUIS – The Missouri State Bears picked up 30 of a possible 40 first-place votes and were announced as the preseason favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball title this season, according the league’s preseason poll of coaches, media and communications professionals released here Tuesday (Oct. 24).

It marks the first time since joining the MVC in 1990-91 the Bears have been picked to win The Valley title. The Bears received 381 points in the poll just ahead of UNI (337) which also picked up eight first-place votes, Loyola (321) with one first-place vote, and defending champion Illinois State (256) which was picked fourth and snagged the final first-place vote.

Rounding out the poll were Southern Illinois (226), Valparaiso (214), Bradley (182), Indiana State (116), Evansville (88) and Drake (79) in the 10-team league.

Likewise, MSU senior forward Alize Johnson (Williamsport, Pa.), the only returning first-team All-MVC selection from last season, has been named as the MVC Preseason Player of the Year.

Johnson is the first MSU player since Kyle Weems in 2011-12 to earn the preseason honor. He is one of six preseason first-team picks, along with Loyola’s tandem of Donte Ingram and Aundre Jackson, Indiana State’s Brenton Scott, Northern Iowa’s Bennett Koch and Drake’s Reed Timmer.

Johnson was the 2017 Newcomer of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference and attended a pre-draft workout with the Boston Celtics in April. In 2016-17, Johnson also earned All-MVC first-team and NABC All-District honors while being named to the MVC All-Tournament Team. He was a two-time Valley Player of the Week and six-time Valley Newcomer of the Week in his first campaign in Springfield.

He led the conference in rebounding at 10.6 per game last season, which ranked 11th nationally. He also led MSU in scoring at 14.8 points per game while producing 17 double-doubles -– the 15th-most in the nation — and 21 double-figure rebounding games. He also finished with the second-highest season rebounding total of Missouri State’s Division I era (351) while converting 48.8 percent of his field goals and 39 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Last week, Johnson was announced as one of 20 nominees for the 2018 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award.

The Bears return four starters for coach Paul Lusk’s seventh season at the helm. His club is coming off a 17-win campaign that included a run to the MVC Tournament semifinals last March.

The Bears will conduct a free, public scrimmage this Saturday at 10 a.m. before hosting Southwest Baptist at JQH Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. in their only remaining preseason exhibition game. MSU opens the regular season on Friday, Nov. 10 at Western Kentucky before its home opener on November 15 against Southern University.

— MSU Athletics —

Griffon volleyball receiving votes in latest top 25 poll

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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 —

MU’s Drew Lock named Manning Award Star of the Week

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Football junior QB Drew Lock (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) was named one of eight Manning Award Stars of the Week, announced Monday by the All-State Sugar Bowl. Lock threw for 467 yards and six touchdowns, which are the second-most in school history trailing only the seven that he threw in the season-opener against Missouri State. Lock’s 467 yards in the game are the fourth-most in program history and Lock now owns three of the top five single-game passing marks at Mizzou.

Lock had four of his TD passes in the first quarter alone as the Tigers erased an early 7-0 deficit by scoring 37-unanswered points – including a school-record 34 points in the first quarter on the way to a 51-14 halftime lead. His four 1st-quarter TD passes is tied for most in a single quarter this season among Power Five QBs.

Over his last four games, Lock has 15 passing TDs and just three interceptions while passing for 1,291 yards on 83-of-129 attempts (64.3 percent). That is good for a 182.13 QB rating in that span. Keep in mind, that those games are against Auburn, Kentucky, Georgia and Idaho. Georgia ranked ninth in the nation in pass defense when Mizzou played the Bulldogs and Idaho was ranked sixth in the nation in pass defense before Lock torched the Vandals last week.

Mizzou will be back in action Saturday as it heads to UConn for its final nonconference game of the season. The game will air on ESPN 1550 at 5:30 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

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