MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa – The Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Grizzly Volleyball team came close to winning all three of its games at the Iowa/Missouri Challenge this past weekend in Marshalltown, Iowa.
But in a five-set thriller Saturday, No. 2 Iowa Western Community College, Council Bluffs, slipped past the No. 8 Grizzlies 25-22, 19-25, 25-20, 13-25, 13-15, giving the Grizzlies their only loss of the outing.
“Our district is full of good teams with four in the top 20 and two of those in the top 10,” Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paula Wiedemann said.
“The game against Iowa Western was a battle from the beginning and a fight to the end. Games like that make you appreciate the work that goes into playing tough teams and the work that’s still in front of us,” she added.
Friday night, the Grizzlies downed the host team 25-9, 25-14, 25-11. They closed out the event Saturday afternoon with a 25-13, 25-19, 16-25, 25-22 over No. 16 Indian Hills Community College, Ottumwa.
The Grizzlies are now 13-5 overall.
Freshman outside hitter Ilana Assis led the Grizzlies statistically, recording a total of 35 kills (2.92 per set), 36 digs, five aces and an attacking percentage of .233 for the weekend.
Redshirt freshman right side hitter Manuela Bibinbe led the team in blocks with three. She also had 23 kills (1.92 per set) and hit .303.
Redshirt freshman right side attacker Cecilia Westfall was the Grizzlies’ most efficient hitter for the event. She had a team leading .417 attacking percentage and added 25 kills, two blocks and four aces to the stat sheet.
Redshirt freshman libero Lauren Weber led the team defensively with 52 digs and a pass rate of 2.40.
Freshman setter Doga Kutlu recorded a team leading 101 assists while chipping in 31 digs and three aces.
Freshman middle blocker Alana Moesch had four aces and 27 kills (2.25 per set), and redshirt freshman middle blocker Angelina Hardison added four aces and 2.5 blocks.
The Grizzlies will face Region 16 rival Jefferson College at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Hillsboro before hosting the Grizzly Invitational Friday and Saturday in Joe Paul Evans arena at the West Plains Civic Center.
Joining the Grizzlies at the two-day event will be Jefferson, Hutchinson Community College, Trinity Valley Community College and Tyler Junior College. Games begin at 10 a.m. each day.
The Grizzlies will face Hutchinson at noon Friday then play Trinity Valley at 6 p.m. Saturday, they will face Tyler at 2 p.m. and close out the tournament with a 6 p.m. contest against Jefferson.
For more information about the Grizzly Volleyball team, visit its website at msuwpgrizzlies.com/sports/wvball/index.
Missouri State University-West Plains empowers students to achieve personal success and to enrich their local and global communities by providing accessible, affordable and quality educational opportunities. Missouri State-West Plains offers associate degrees and credit and non-credit courses and serves as a delivery site for bachelor’s and master’s degrees offered by Missouri State University in Springfield.
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