The No. 12-ranked Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team tallied a 3-0 victory in its season-opening match against the St. Mary's Rattlers at the Britkare Lady Buff Classic in Canyon, Texas.

The Bearcats won by set scores of 25-16, 25-12 and 25-19.

Junior setter Alyssa Rezac notched a double-double with 30 assists and 11 digs, while sophomore Payton Kirchhoefer secured a team-high 12 kills. Sophomore libero Kristen Ford earned a team-high 17 digs, while sophomore Abby Brunssen was credited with a team-best five blocks.

Northwest took control of the first set with a 10-3 run to open up a 21-13 advantage. Northwest hit .467 in the first set and had an 88.2% side-out effort. Kirchhoefer posted six first-set kills. St. Mary's was limited to .087 hitting in the first set.

The Bearcats took a 2-0 lead in the match with a second set triumph. Northwest trailed 7-3 and 9-8 before unleashing a set-changing 13-0 run. With the Rattlers holding a 9-8 lead, Rezac found a comfort zone on the serving line and led Northwest to 13 straight points. The Bearcats closed the second set on a 17-3 spurt for the 25-12 victory.

Northwest closed out the sweep with a 25-19 triumph. St. Mary's scored the first three points of the set, only to see Northwest come back with a 9-2 run to take a 9-5 advantage. The third set was knotted at 17-17 before Northwest ended the match on an 8-2 run to score the 25-19 win.

Northwest will take on Adams State at 4:30 p.m. in its second match of the day at the Britkare Lady Buff Classic.