ST. JOESPH, Mo.—The Pittsburg State University Gorillas look to get their second straight win on the road on Thursday night when they travel to Missouri for a Mid-America Intercollege Athletics Association (MIAA) match with Missouri Western.

Scouting the Gorillas

• The Gorillas bounced back from three straight losses against ranked opponents last week with a five-set win over Newman on Tuesday night.
• The Gorillas now enter the fray with an 8-6 overall record and a 3-2 mark in the MIAA.
• Head Coach Jen Gomez, who is in her third season at the helm, enters the match with a 39-68 record.
• The Gorillas have three players with triple digits in kills this season. Senior outside hitter Erika Ivkov (Weld, Colo.) has 145 for an average of 3.15 per set while sophomore Morgan Henning (Seneca, Mo.) has 125 (2.55 per set) and sophomore outside hitter Meg Auten (Manhattan, Kan.) has 105 (2.33 per set).
• Sophomore setter Brianna Richard (Ames, Iowa) has a team-high 313 assists (6.66 per set) while freshman setter Laura Willoughby (Lawrence, Kan.) has 188 assists (5.88 per set).
• Henning is sitting second in the MIAA with a hitting percentage of .353 on the season.

Scouting the Griffons

• Missouri Western heads into the game with a 7-5 overall record and a 1-3 mark in the MIAA.
• The Griffons are coming off a four-set loss to No. 5 Washburn University in Topeka, Kan. 
• Missouri Western dropped a five-set match to No. 15 Northwest Missouri and a four-set match to No. 12 Central Missouri so far in MIAA action. Their lone win in the league came in Sept. 26 when they defeated Emporia State in five sets.
• Like Pitt State, the Griffons have three players with triple-digit kills on the season as junior Ali Tauchen (Iowa City, Iowa) has 145 (3.37 per set), freshman Allie Kerns (Omaha, Neb.) has 108 (2.63 per set) and senior Sam Duncan (Omaha, Neb.) has 102 (2.62 per set).
• They rely heavily on senior setter Lauren Murphy (Plainfield, Ill.) who has 421 assists on the season (9.79 per set).

History

• The Griffons lead the all-time series with a 58-24-1 overall record.
• The Gorillas are on a four-game losing streak dating back to 2015. They have only been able to salvage one set in that time frame.
• Since 2010, Missouri Western holds a 10-3 advantage and have won 32 sets to the Gorillas 17.

Up Next

• The Gorillas return home next Friday and Saturday for MIAA matches against Emporia State (6 p.m.) on Friday and Washburn (2 p.m.) on Saturday at John Lance Arena.