ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The No. 12-ranked Nebraska-Kearney Lopers knocked the Northwest Missouri State University women's volleyball team out of the 2023 MIAA Tournament with a 3-0 sweep at Civic Arena on Thursday afternoon.
 
Nebraska-Kearney won by set scores of 25-20, 25-17 and 25-15. UNK advances to Friday's semifinal against No. 7-seeded Missouri Southern, who knocked off No. 2-seeded Central Oklahoma in four sets.
 
Northwest finished off its eighth consecutive winning season with a mark of 15-14 overall.
 
Northwest bounced out to early 8-1 and 10-2 leads in the first set as UNK head coach Rick Squires used both of his timeouts. The Lopers responded with a set-changing 17-3 run to take a 19-13 advantage. Northwest clawed back to within 20-18, but UNK was able to finish the set on a 5-2 run. Northwest had 10 kills in the opening set, but off-set that number with 10 attack errors. UNK hit .125 with 13 kills and eight attack errors.
 
The second set featured seven ties that led to a 12-12 deadlock. UNK seized control of the set with a 7-1 spurt that saw Bearcat head coach Amy Woerth use both of her allotted timeouts. UNK used the momentum of the 7-1 run to close out the set on a 13-5 run. UNK won the second set, 25-17, to take a 2-0 lead in the match. UNK hit .216 with 11 kills and three errors in the second. Northwest hit. 109 with 13 kills to go against eight attack errors.
 
Northwest got off to a strong start in the third set with a 6-2 advantage. UNK battled back and took a 13-11 lead. The Lopers closed the final set on a 15-4 run to take it, 25-15. UNK hit .481 in the third with 14 kills and one attack error. Northwest was held to .063 hitting with 11 kills and eight errors in the final set.
 
Olivia Dir collected a team-high eight kills, while first-team all-MIAA pick Abby Brunssen contributed with seven kills and six blocks. Ella Caffery added a double-double with 23 assists and 10 digs. Honorable mention all-MIAA selection Kyah Luhring put up a team-high 15 digs.