KANSAS CITY, Mo. -&nbsp;The third time was not a charm for the Missouri Western volleyball as they lost in three sets to Northwest Missouri State in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City Thursday. The Griffons end their season 17-13 as they lost all three matches in 2019 to the Bearcats. After two five-set thrillers with their rivals in the regular season, Missouri Western dropped the first set 25-12, the second 25-18 and the third 27-25. The Griffons hit .068 in the first with a 29 sideout percentage. Missouri Western kept the second close until the Bearcats closed out the set outscoring MWSU 10-4. The back-and-forth third set included eight ties and six lead changes.&nbsp;Sam Duncan&nbsp;got a Griff rally going in the third, serving on five points of a 6-0 run for the Griffs. With Northwest leading 23-20 in the third, MWSU scored four straight to give MWSU the serve on the first game point. The teams traded points back and forth until the Bearcats ended it with back-to-back kills. NOTABLES<ul><li>Northwest had 10 more kills (47) than the Griffs and recorded six aces to MWSU's three.</li><li>The Bearcats hit .267 in the match with the Griffons hitting .129.</li><li>No Griffons reached double-digit kills;&nbsp;Karly Tharp&nbsp;led the team with eight and had 10 digs.</li><li>Danielle Moje&nbsp;had seven kills with three in each of the final two sets and two blocks.</li><li>Alie Kerns and&nbsp;Ali Tauchen&nbsp;each had six kills with Tauchen adding 16 digs and two blocks.</li><li>Tiana Butler&nbsp;led the team with 18 digs.</li><li>Lauren Murphy&nbsp;had 25 assists.</li></ul> Northwest Missouri advanced to face top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Nebraska Kearney in the MIAA semifinals on Saturday. --- MWSU Athletics ---

Griffons get swept by Northwest in opening round of MIAA volleyball tournament