PITTSBURG, Kan.—The Pittsburg State University Gorillas dropped their first Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) game of the season on Friday night as the No. 11 Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats defeated the Gorillas in four sets.
 
The Bearcats won by set scores of 15-25, 31-29, 25-16 and 25-22. With the loss the Gorillas fall to 7-5 on the season and 2-1 in the MIAA. They have now lost two straight at home and are 5-2.
 
The Gorillas will return to action tomorrow against the No. 14 University of Central Missouri Jennies who will visit John Lance Arena and Whetzel Court on Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
The Gorillas came out on fire on Friday night as they used a 7-0 run in the middle the first set and eventually an 11-2 run to win the first set 25-15.
 
The second set was an intense match as both teams battled back and forth and traded points over and over and eventually the Bearcats won the marathon set, 31-29. The Gorillas battled valiantly in the fourth set and eventually led but could not overcome momentum.
 
In the set, the Gorillas posted 54 kills including 22 in the second set. They had 20 errors in the entire match. The Bearcats had 65 kills including 21 in the second set and had 20 errors including 12 in the first set.
 
Meg Auten was the leading attacker for the Gorillas with 14 while Morgan Henning and Emily Regier had 11 each. Henning had three aces while Erika Ivkov had 2.
 
After Saturday's action the Gorillas continue MIAA action next week with two road matches. On Tuesday, the Gorillas will take on Newman before taking on Missouri Western on Thursday.