MARYVILLE, Mo. - The No. 10-ranked Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team claimed the program's first MIAA regular season championship with a 3-0 sweep of No. 21-ranked Central Oklahoma in Bearcat Arena.

The Northwest victory assures the Bearcats of at least a share of the regular season crown. The Bearcats are 16-3 in MIAA play with a final home match set for Friday at 6 p.m. against the Newman Jets. Another Northwest triumph would give the Bearcats the outright league title and the No. 1 seed in the 2022 MIAA Tournament.

Northwest won by set scores of 25-22, 25-18 and 25-21 to produce the 10th consecutive win in a row for the Bearcats. The Bronchos dropped to 24-6 overall and finished 14-6 in league play.

The Bearcats tallied 50 kills and hit .258. Northwest registered 84 digs, which ties for the seventh-most in a three-set match in program history.

Sophomore Kyah Luhring tied a Northwest individual three-set record with 28 digs. Paige Spangengerg also secured 28 digs in a three-set match vs. Washburn on Nov. 18, 2010.

Sophomore Payton Kirchhoefer secured a double-double with 17 kills (.250) and 15 digs. Junior Jaden Ferguson also notched a double-double with 12 kills (.314) and 11 digs. Junior setter Alyssa Rezac also registered a double-double with 36 assists and 11 digs. Rezac posted five kills and two blocks.

The Bearcats did not trail in the opening set. The set was tied on two occasions. Northwest hit .240 with 14 kills and two errors in taking the first set, 25-22.

The second set featured six ties and two lead changes, but Northwest prevailed by the count of 25-18. Northwest sided out at 73% and hit .314 with 18 kills and two errors. UCO hit .151 with 14 kills.

Northwest closed out the victory with a 25-21 win in the third. The set was tied four times and had only one lead change. Northwest sided out at 71% and hit .220 with 18 kills against seven attack errors. UCO hit .120 with 12 kills and six errors.

It is the sixth all-time victory for Northwest over Central Oklahoma. It is the second victory for the Bearcats over the Bronchos in Maryville. Northwest's only two 3-0 sweeps of UCO have come in each of the last two seasons in Bearcat Arena.