Box Score Joplin, Mo. -- Payton Graves had a stellar night, but the Missouri Southern volleyball team fell three sets to none tonight to 13th ranked Central Oklahoma. Individual set scores were 19-25, 18-25 and 14-25.
The Lions (1-16, 0-6 MIAA) were led offensively by Graves' as the senior hit .588 and added 11 kills and two blocks.
Callie Whetstone had five kills, five blocks and hit .333, while
Monica White had five kills of her own.
Abby Finder dished out 27 assists, while
Katie Wiele had a team-high 11 digs.
UCO (17-1, 6-0 MIAA) was led by 14 kills from Jordan Spence and 11 from Taylor Bevis.
Southern kept it close in the first set until midway through when UCO went on a 4-1 run to open up a 17-13 lead. The Bronchos would hold on for the win in the opener.
Central led from start to finish in the second set, although the Lions forced a UCO timeout after going on an 11-3 run midway through the set to cut the Bronchos' lead to four (19-15).
There were two tied scores and one lead change in the final set. The Lions opened up a 3-1 lead, but UCO scored four-straight points and led 17-9 later on to force a Lions' timeout.
The Lions will be back in action tomorrow afternoon when they play a Trophy Series matchup with Pittsburg State. First serve with the Gorillas from Young Gym is slated for 1 pm.
