PITTSBURG – It was another close match as the Gorilla Volleyball team (5-21, 3-11 MIAA) lost to No. 9 Central Oklahoma (26-2, 12-2 MIAA) on Tuesday (Nov. 1) evening in John Lance Arena. Scores were 25-21, 26-24, 25-15. 

Pitt State looked sharp in the first two sets, and even had the Bronchos on the ropes, 24-23, in set two. The two teams were fairly even statistically, with the Gorillas recording 29 kills and 14 errors in 69 attempts, while the UCO had 28 kills and 12 errors in 71 attempts. The primary advantage Central Oklahoma had was in blocking with 8.0 to the Gorillas 6.0.

The third set saw too many Gorilla errors, as they committed eight attack errors to just one for the Bronchos. 

Maggie Highberger led the Gorillas with 14 kills and a .360 attack percentage. Lauren Regier added seven kills, Taylor Unke, 6, and Zoey Qi, 5. Regier led the team with three blocks, while Qi and Unke each added two. Ashlen Schwartz and Lauren Maisberger each had nine digs, while Taylor Wright added eight. 

While home games are done for the Gorillas, they do still have four road games left on the schedule. This weekend the team will travel to Southwest Baptist and Missouri Southern, followed by games at Washburn and Emporia State on November 11 and 12.