PITTSBURG, Kan. -- The four Pittsburg State senior volleyball players wanted a win in their last game on their home court. They knew it would be a tall order, facing Missouri Western, a team tied for second in the conference and receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Top 25. The determination of the seniors with some great support from the Gorilla underclassmen ended in a 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-21) win on Saturday (Nov. 1) afternoon in John Lance Arena.
The Gorillas were strong at the block in the match, putting up 12.0 team blocks, with seniors Ashley Bell and Haylee Gregory leading the charge. Bell put down five solo blocks and one block assist, all in the second set. Gregory added two solo blocks and one block assist. A third senior, Paula Okrutna contributed two block assists. Bell also had six kills, Gregory, seven, and Okrutna, two. Aimee Wood added to the Gorillas defensive efforts with six digs.
Madi Mosier led Pitt State with 14 kills, while Hope Joyner added 14. The Gorillas committed only 13 attack errors in the match, hitting at a .318 clip. Ashlen Schwartz had 20 digs.
Pitt State started the first set down by four early, 6-2. The team began to chip away at the Griffons lead, tying the set at 9-9 on a Bell service ace, then taking the lead on a Joyner kill. The teams were tied again at 10- and 11- and 13. Pitt State took the lead at 14-13 on a Gregory kill and stayed in the lead until a Griffon kill tied the set again at 18-all. The Gorillas took the lead for good on an Okrutna kill to go up 19-18. From there, Pitt State only allowed three more Missouri Western points, as PSU won the set 25-21.
There were 10 ties and four lead changes in the second set. Pitt State lead early by as much as four, before Missouri Western came back to take the lead at 10-9 on a PItt State error. The Griffons were able to build a four-point lead as late as 19-15, but again the Gorillas just kept coming back and used a five point run to go up 20-19 on Mosier's serve. The two teams continued to battle, tied the set at 20-20, 22-22, 23-23 and 24-24 before back-to-back kills by Joyner and Mosier gave the Gorillas the win that put the up 2-0 in the match.
The Griffons led almost the entire third set, but again were never up by more than four, and again the Gorillas would just not back down. Down four at 19-15, Pitt State started to make a run, led off by back-to-back kills from Maggie Highberger. An error by Missouri Western, put PSU within one, 19-18. A Griffon kill and a block, put the Gorillas down by three once again. A kill by Hope Joyner started the Gorilla charge again. The Griffons added an error and Mosier put down a kill to tie the set 21-21. A big block by Hayley Hansford and Mosier and a Mosier kill put Pitt State in the lead by two, 23-21. Missouri Western added a kill, but Pitt State answered with a Mosier kill to force match point. The Griffons held off one match point, but Gregory put down the final kill on the next play to secure the win.
While the home portion of the schedule is over for the Gorillas, the team still has four more road games remaining. The team will travel to Washburn and Emporia next weekend, followed by a midweek match at Missouri Southern and a final Saturday match at Central Oklahoma.
