Thursday, Nov. 10
No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney vs. No. 7 Missouri Western, 12 p.m. | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
No. 3 Central Missouri vs. No. 6 Pittsburg State, 2:30 p.m. | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
No. 1 Northwest Missouri State  vs. No. 8 Missouri Southern, 5 p.m. | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
No. 4 Central Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Washburn, 7:30 p.m. | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
 
Friday, Nov. 11
Semifinal #1 – Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2, 5 p.m. | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Semifinal #2 – Winner of Match 3 vs. Winner of Match 4, 7:30 p.m. | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS

Saturday, Nov. 12
MIAA Championship Match, 6 p.m. | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS

TICKETS FOR MIAA TOURNAMENT

The Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team will look to capture its first MIAA Tournament title this week at Civic Arena in St. Joseph, Mo.
 
The No. 1-seeded Bearcats will take to the floor Thursday at 5 p.m. against No. 8-seeded Missouri Southern. If the Bearcats are victorious, Northwest will advance to the second semifinal set for Friday at 7:30 p.m. The MIAA Tournament final will be Saturday at 6 p.m.
 
Northwest captured the program's first-ever MIAA regular season title with a 17-3 mark through the regular season. The 17 MIAA wins ties for the most in program history.
Each of the last six seasons has produced the most MIAA wins in program history. 

Northwest's MIAA Wins – Single Season
1. 17 – 2021
    17 – 2022
3. 14 – 2018
4. 13 – 2019
5. 11 – 2017
6. 10 – 1999
    10 – 2010
    10 – 2016
9. 8 – 2011
    8 – 2014
    8 – 2015
 
MIAA Standings
Northwest Mo. St.      17-3
Neb.-Kearney              16-4
Central Oklahoma       14-6
Central Missouri          14-6
Washburn                     13-7
Pittsburg State             10-10
Missouri Western       8-12
Missouri Southern      8-12
Fort Hays State            6-14
Newman                       3-17
Emporia State              1-19
 
The Bearcats are in the midst of an 11-match win streak which ties them for the fourth-longest winning streak in school history. Northwest's 11-match win streak ranks tied for No. 9 in the nation among active NCAA Div. II winning streaks.
 
Northwest's Longest Winning Streaks
1. 23 (Sept. 12, 1980 – Oct. 7, 1980)
2. 15 (Sept. 7, 1984 – Sept. 21, 1984)
    15 (Sept. 2, 2016 – Sept. 30, 2016)
4. 11 (Sept. 18, 2021 – Oct. 23, 2021)
    11 (Oct. 8, 2022 – pres.)
5. 9 (Oct. 3, 1984 – Oct. 12, 1984)
    9 (Sept. 16, 1994 – Oct. 1, 1994)
    9 (Sept. 7, 2018 – Sept. 28, 2018)
8. 8 (Oct. 25, 1980 – Nov. 1, 1980)
    8 (Sept. 12, 1981 – Sept. 25, 1981)
    8 (Oct. 3, 1981 – Oct. 16, 1981)
 
NCAA Div. II Longest Active Winning Streaks
1. 25, Harding
2. 22, Spring Hill
3. 19, MSU Denver
4. 17, West Texas A&M
5. 13, Charleston
    13, Emmanuel (Ga.)
7. 12, Quincy
    12, Shepherd
9. 11, Northwest Mo. St.
    11, Gannon

Northwest is 8-4 against ranked foes this season, including a mark of 4-2 against top-10 ranked opponents. Northwest's only other loss this season came against Regis when the Rangers were unranked. Regis is ranked No. 14 in this week's AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll.
 
Northwest vs. Top-25 Ranked Foes in 2022
W, 3-1 at No. 14 West Texas A&M (8/27)
W, 3-0 vs. No. 16 Angelo State (9/2)
L, 3-1 at No. 4 MSU Denver (9/2)
W, 3-1 vs. No. 3 Western Washington (9/3)
L, 3-2 at No. 18 Central Missouri (9/7)
W, 3-1 at No. 2 Washburn (9/17)
L, 3-0 at No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney (9/30)
L, 3-0 at No. 24 Central Oklahoma (10/7)
W, 3-1 vs. No. 25 Central Missouri (10/11)
W, 3-1 vs. No. 10 Washburn (10/14)
W, 3-1 vs. No. 8 Nebraska-Kearney (10/22)
W, 3-0 vs. No. 21 Central Oklahoma (11/2)
 
Northwest is ranked No. 10 in this week's AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll. Northwest has been ranked 46 times in its program history. Northwest set the program's highest ranking at No. 3 in the Oct. 25, 2021, poll. Northwest has been ranked in the AVCA Top-10 16 times.

Northwest in AVCA Top 25
Sept. 19, 2016 – No. 22
Sept. 26, 2016 – No. 20
Oct. 3, 2016 – No. 18
Oct. 10, 2016 – No. 17
Oct. 17, 2016 – No. 17
Oct. 24, 2016 – No. 16
Oct. 31, 2016 – No. 21
Nov. 7, 2016 – No. 25
Nov. 14, 2016 – No. 25
Sept. 9, 2019 – No. 18
Sept. 16, 2019 – No. 15
Sept. 23, 2019 – No. 11
Sept. 30, 2019 – No. 10
Oct. 7, 2019 – No. 10
Oct. 14, 2019 – No. 14
Oct. 21, 2019 – No. 14
Oct. 28, 2019 – No. 14
Nov. 4, 2019 – No. 14
Nov. 11, 2019 – No. 19
Nov. 18, 2019 – No. 20
Nov. 25, 2019 – No. 21
Dec. 16, 2019 – No. 25
2021 Preseason – No. 17
Sept. 6, 2021 – No. 8
Sept. 13, 2021 – No. 12
Sept. 20, 2021 – No. 13
Sept. 27, 2021 – No. 13
Oct. 4, 2021 – No. 10
Oct. 11, 2021 – No. 9
Oct. 18, 2021 – No. 6
Oct. 25, 2021 – No. 3
Nov. 1, 2021 – No. 5
Nov. 8, 2021 – No. 5
Nov. 15, 2021 – No. 4
Nov. 22, 2021 – No. 4
Dec. 18, 2021 – No. 12
2022 Preseason – No. 12
Aug. 29, 2022 – No. 10
Sept. 5, 2022 – No. 12
Sept. 12, 2022 – No. 13
Sept. 19, 2022 – No. 11
Sept. 26, 2022 – No. 10
Oct. 3, 2022 – No. 10
Oct. 10, 2022 – No. 15
Oct. 17, 2022 – No. 13
Oct. 24, 2022 – No. 12
Oct. 31, 2022 – No. 10
Nov. 7, 2022 – No. 10

Northwest surpassed the 20-win mark for the 18th time in program history. It is the fifth 20-win season in six years for the 'Cats. Northwest has recorded four consecutive 20-win seasons, which is the longest stretch since the Bearcats had six straight 20-win seasons from 1980-1985.
 
Northwest's 20-Win Seasons
52 – 1980
51 – 1981
46 – 1984
32 – 1982
30 – 1978
28 – 1979
27 – 1983
26 – 1994
25 – 1985, 1999
24 – 2021
23 – 2002
22 – 2016, 2018
21 – 1990, 1998
20 – 1996, 2019
 
Northwest has produced its second-highest winning percentage (.821) this season with a mark of 23-5 overall. The best single-season winning percentage mark at Northwest came in the 1980 season at .852. Last season, Northwest went 26-6 (.813) for the third-highest winning percentage in a season in program history.

Northwest Single-Season Winning Percentage
1. .852 (52-9), 1980
2. .821 (23-5), 2022
3. .813 (26-6), 2021
4. .783 (46-13), 1984
5. .750 (51-14-1), 1981
6. .733 (22-8), 2018
7. .710 (22-9), 2016
8. .700 (21-9), 2019
9. .694 (25-11), 1999
10. .684 (26-12, 1994

Northwest put together a perfect 10-0 mark at home this season. It's the most home matches won by the Bearcats since head coach Amy Woerth took over the program in 2012. Northwest won nine home matches in 2014 and nine more home matches in 2021.
 
Northwest has only played three five-set matches this season. The Bearcats won their first five-set match of the year against Fort Hays State. Northwest is 14-2 in three-set matches and 8-1 in four-set matches. Northwest is 22-3 in matches of four sets or less this season.
 
The Bearcats are 21-7 in the first set. Northwest is 24-4 in the second set. Northwest is 19-9 in the third set. The Bearcats are 9-3 in the fourth set.
 
Northwest is 18-1 this season when winning the first two sets. Northwest went 15-2 last season when taking the first two sets of a match. Since the start of the 2018 season, Northwest is 67-6 when winning the first two sets.
 
The Bearcats leads the MIAA in service aces (1.68 aces/set). Northwest ranks second in the MIAA in team hitting percentage (.252). Northwest ranks No. 3 in kills (14.04 kills/set). Northwest leads the MIAA in opponent blocks (1.50 blocks/set). The Bearcats rank No. 2 in the league in digs (19.01 digs/set).
 
Setter Alyssa Rezac notched her sixth MIAA setter of the week honor and 10th of her career as Northwest clinched the outright MIAA regular season championship. Rezac averaged 12.67 assists per set in leading Northwest to a pair of wins. Rezac had 36 assists, 11 digs, five kills and two blocks on a sweep of Central Oklahoma to clinch at least a share of the MIAA regular season crown. Rezac dished out 40 assists, secured nine digs and added two kills in a 3-0 win over Newman to give the Bearcats the outright MIAA title and No. 1 seed for the conference tournament. Rezac ranks No. 3 in the MIAA in assists per set (10.96) and that bumps up to No. 2 in MIAA matches only (12.03 assists/set). She ranks No. 3 in the league in service aces per set (0.38). She has posted 12 double-doubles this season and 28 in her Bearcat career. She has posted 40 or more assists 13 times this season. Rezac ranks No. 7 in program history on total assists with 2,488.
 
Northwest Career Assists
1. Jennifer Pittrich (1993-1996)         5,428
2. Megan Danek (1999-2002)              5,064
3. Sarah Dannettell (2014-2017)         3,949
4. Laira Akin (2009-2011)                     3,600
5. Abby Wilms (1997-98)                      3,104
6. Maddy Ahrens (2017-2021)             2,847
7. Alyssa Rezac (2019-pres.)               2,488
8. Katie Swenson (2007-2008)             2,441
9. Molly Hankins (2005-2006)            2,332
10. Sherri Miller (1982-1985)             2,185
 
Jaden Ferguson ranks No. 9 in the league in hitting percentage (.306) with 298 kills. Ferguson hit .306 (5th in the league) with 233 kills in MIAA matches. In MIAA matches, Ferguson ranks No. 5 in total kills (233). Ferguson has registered 18 double-figure kill matches this season and 32 for her career. Ferguson is tied for the team lead with 13 double-doubles this season.
 
Payton Kirchhoefer leads the Bearcats in kills per set (3.56). She ranks first on the team in kills with 313. She has posted 17 double-figure kill performances, including 13 double-doubles this season. Kirchhoefer secured her first career 20-20 effort with 22 kills and 22 digs against No. 10-ranked Washburn in Bearcat Arena. Kirchhoefer averaged 5.83 kills per set and hit .350 as Northwest won two matches to secure the first MIAA title in program history. Kirchhoefer belted out 17 kills (.250) with 15 digs, three assists and a block in a 3-0 victory over No. 21-ranked Central Oklahoma. Kirchhoefer blasted 18 kills (.500) on 32 swings in a 3-0 sweep of Newman. Kirchhoefer also had eight digs, three blocks, two service aces and two assists against the Jets. is the second time this season and fourth time in her career that Kirchhoefer has earned the MIAA's Offensive Player of the Week award.
 
Double-Doubles (2022)
Jaden Ferguson            13
Payton Kirchhoefer     13
Alyssa Rezac                 12
Olivia Dir                       2
Kelly Wiedemann        2
 
Active Career Double-Doubles
Alyssa Rezac                 28
Hallie Sidney                 26
Jaden Ferguson            14
Payton Kirchhoefer     13
Olivia Dir                       3
Kelly Wiedemann       2

Abby Brunssen ranks No. 2 in the MIAA in blocks per set (1.14). Brunssen had a season-high nine blocks against Angelo State and nine more against Nebraska-Kearney. Brunssen leads the team in total blocks (82).
 
Avery Kemp notched a career-high nine blocks in Northwest's 3-1 win over No. 8-ranked Nebraska-Kearney. Kemp ranks No. 10 in the MIAA in hitting percentage (.302). Kemp has posted 222 kills on the season. Kemp has tallied 10 double-figure kill matches this season. Kemp ranks second on the squad with 76 blocks. Kemp secured the sixth-best three-set hitting percentage total in Bearcat history with a .611 hitting effort against Missouri Southern (Sept. 25).
 
Kyah Luhring averaged 7.00 digs per set in two Northwest home victories. Luhring tied a school record for most digs in a three-set match with 28 digs vs. No. 21-ranked Central Oklahoma. Luhring tossed in seven assists against the Bronchos. Luhring secured 14 digs and an assist in Northwest's 3-0 sweep of Newman to close out the regular season. It is the third time this season that Luhring has been named the MIAA Defensive Player of the Week.
 
Kate Frakes possessed a .321 hitting percentage in MIAA play. Frakes has posted 49 kills in 112 swings in MIAA play. Frakes tied for the sixth-best three-set hitting percentage in program history with 12 kills on 18 swings with one error (.611 hitting percentage) against Fort Hays State on Oct. 1.
 
Hallie Sidney is one of 47 active NCAA Division II players with 1,000 or more career kills. Sidney has tallied 1,035 career kills for the Bearcats.
 
The Bearcat block was in full effect in a 3-1 triumph over No. 8-ranked Nebraska-Kearney. The Bearcats recorded a season-high 18 blocks against the Lopers. The 18 blocks ranks tied for fourth in a four-set match in program history. Avery Kemp and Abby Brunssen each secured nine blocks against the Lopers. The 18 blocks are the most blocks given up this season by Nebraska-Kearney.
 
Northwest put on a serving clinic in a 3-1 win over Emporia State. The Bearcats recorded 18 service aces, tying for the second-most in a single match in program history. It is the most service aces by a Northwest team in a four-set match in school history. Kristen Ford notched seven aces, while Jaden Ferguson tossed in five service aces. Alyssa Rezac contributed with three aces. Karsen VanScoy tallied two aces against the Hornets. Payton Kirchhoefer added the other ace against ESU.
 
Northwest has produced a program-best 13 MIAA player of the week honorees in the 2022 season. Northwest had 10 MIAA player of the week recipients in 2021.
 
Northwest's 2022 MIAA Volleyball Player of the Week Recipients
Alyssa Rezac - Setter of the Week (Aug. 29)
Alyssa Rezac - Setter of the Week (Sept. 19)
Kristen Ford - Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 19)
Kyah Luhring - Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 17)
Alyssa Rezac - Setter of the Week (Oct. 17)
Alyssa Rezac - Setter of the Week (Oct. 24)
Payton Kirchhoefer - Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 24)
Jaden Ferguson - Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 24)
Alyssa Rezac - Setter of the Week (Oct. 31)
Kyah Luhring – Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 31)
Alyssa Rezac - Setter of the Week (Nov. 7)
Payton Kirchhoefer – Offensive Player of the Week (Nov. 7)
Kyah Luhring – Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 7)

Head coach Amy Woerth is in her 11th year at the helm of the Bearcat volleyball program. Woerth has compiled an overall mark of 184-120. Woerth ranks No. 2 in coaching victories in program history with 184 – trailing only Sarah Pelster (199 wins from 1991-2002).
 
Northwest Volleyball Coaching Victories
1. Sarah Pelster (1991-2002) - 199
2. Amy Woerth (2012-current) – 184
3. Pam Stanek (1977-81) - 176
4. Susie Homan (1982-84) - 105
5. Peggy Voisin (1987-90) - 64
6. Anna Tool (2006-09) - 56
7. Cathie Schulte (1985-86) - 37
8. Lori Slight (2003-05) - 35
9. Jessica Reinhart (2010-11) - 29
10. Theresa Hospodarski (1975-76) – 12
 
Northwest Volleyball Coaching Win Percentage
1. Pam Stanek (1977-81) - .655 (174-93-7)
2. Susie Homan (1982-84) - .642 (105-58-2)
3. Amy Woerth (2012-current) - .605 (184-120)
4. Jessica Reinhart (2010-11) - .475 (29-32)
5. Sarah Pelster (1991-2002) - .468 (199-226)
6. Anna Tool (2006-09) - .415 (51-72)
7. Cathie Schulte (1985-86) - .411 (37-53)
8. Peggy Voisin (1987-90) - .349 (64-114)
9. Lori Slight (2003-05) - .354 (35-64)
10. Theresa Hospodarski (1975-76) - .237 (12-43-4)
 
Woerth and the Bearcats earned the program's second NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021. Northwest set a school record with 17 MIAA victories last season. The previous best of 14 was set in 2018.
 
The Bearcats came in as the favorites in the preseason MIAA coaches' poll. Northwest received three first-place votes and edged out three other schools in a tight vote among the league coaches.
 
2022 MIAA Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1) Northwest Missouri – 90 Points [3 First-Place Votes]
T2) Nebraska Kearney – 85 Points [3 First-Place Vote]
T2) Washburn – 85 Points [3 First-Place Vote]
T2) Central Missouri – 85 Points [2 First-Place Vote]
5) Central Oklahoma – 60 Points 
6) Pittsburg State – 56 Points
7) Fort Hays State – 44 Points
8) Missouri Western – 43 Points
9) Emporia State – 21 Points 
10) Missouri Southern – 20 Points
11) Newman – 16 Points
*Coaches Are Not Allowed To Vote For Their Own Team
  
For the ninth straight year and 16th time overall, the Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team earned the United States Marine Corps/American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award. The Bearcat volleyball team recorded a 3.57 cumulative team grade point average during the 2021-22 season. Northwest was one of 148 NCAA Division II schools to gain the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award this year.