MARYVILLE, Mo. - The Northwest Missouri State University volleyball squad recorded a 3-0 sweep of the University of Central Missouri Jennies Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena.
Northwest won by set scores of 25-19, 25-16 and 25-22. Northwest moved to 14-10 overall and 8-6 in MIAA action. UCM dropped to 9-14 overall and 5-9 in league play.
The Bearcats hit .286 with 47 kills and only 11 attack errors in the match. UCM hit .152 with 33 kills and 14 attack errors.Â
Kasidy Mohwinkle posted a match-high 11 kills and Abby Bulthus notched 10 kills to lead the Bearcat offense on Saturday.
Natalie Laiolo secured 18 assists and
Ella Caffery was credited with 17 assists as the Bearcats used a two-setter lineup in the three-set win.Â
Kyah Luhring was credited with a match-high 20 digs.Â
The opening set was deadlocked at 11-11 when the Bearcats used a 3-0 mini-run to take a three-point advantage. UCM would pull to within one on four occasions, but Northwest would not relinquish the lead. Northwest closed the set on a 6-1 run to gain a 25-19 victory. The Bearcats hit .304 with 18 kills in the first set. The Bearcats sided out at 64% (13-of-20). Luhring netted 11 digs in the opening set.
Northwest used an 11-3 to seize control of the second set. The set was tied at 8-8 until the Bearcats moved out to a comfortable 19-11 lead. Northwest took a 2-0 lead with a 25-16 win. Northwest committed only one attack error in the second, while UCM had six errors. Northwest hit .382 to .083 for UCM. Bulthuis put up five kills in the second set. Peyton Kirchhoefer was steady on defense in the set with eight of her 17 digs coming in the second. Northwest sided out at 68% (11-of-16).
The Bearcats climbed out of a 17-9 deficit to finish off the Jennies in the third. UCM trailed 4-2 but used a 15-5 spurt to take a 17-9. The Bearcats exhausted both of their timeouts in the UCM run. Northwest used a 7-1 run to trim the UCM lead to 18-16. Northwest was on the short end of a 22-19 score before the Bearcats sizzled by scoring the final six points of the set to claim the sweep. Northwest hit .196 in the third set with 15 kills and six attack errors. UCM hit .157 with 13 kills and five attack errors in the third.
Northwest will wrap up MIAA regular season play this week with home matches against Nebraska-Kearney (Friday, 6 p.m.) and Fort Hays State (Saturday, 6 p.m.).
