Grizzlies win 2 of 3 at Iowa/Missouri Challenge

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, now 13-5, 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.

"We knew it was a big deal going into the weekend facing both Iowa Western and Indian Hills," she added. "We had to be ready for both of those games to be close, fight-for-every-point type games. The Iowa Western game was just that.

"It was a battle from the beginning and a fight to the end, and that's what we needed to see how we would respond. We responded the way we needed to, taking a punch and punching right back. It was a fun game to be in. 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 said.

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.

"Any Indian Hills game is always going to have a level of intensity that we need to be ready for," Wiedemann said. "We handled the pressure and kept putting good things together, so it was a really good win."

Statistically speaking

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.

Up next

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.