Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern volleyball team will open the 2022 MIAA Tournament tomorrow evening as the Lions will take on tenth-ranked and No. 1 Seed Northwest Missouri in the opening round at St. Joseph Civic Arena.
The Lions (13-16) are the eighth seed in the tournament but are one of the hottest teams in the field. Southern has four wins in its last seven matches, but three of the four wins have come against nationally ranked opponents including No. 19 Central Oklahoma, No. 14 Washburn and No. 24 Central Missouri.
The Lions recently were honored with four individuals to be named All-MIAA as the league announced its postseason honors today.
Fernanda Canedo,
Abbie Casper and
Amelia Neels all earned second-team All-MIAA honors while
Sophie Mader was an honorable mention selection.
Canedo this season ranks eighth nationally in total attacks and second in the MIAA. She leads the Lions with a 3.18 kills per set average, while ranking second in digs at 2.90 per set. Her 1,232 attack attempts this year rank eighth-best in a single-season at MSSU and are just four away from seventh place.
Casper has been one of the best defenders in Division II this season as she ranks second nationally in total digs and eighth nationally in digs per set. She ranks second in the MIAA in both those categories. Her 656 digs this year rank second-best in a single season, while her 5.56 digs per set are the second-best single season total in MSSU history. Casper helped lead a MSSU defense that ranked sixth nationally in total digs this season.
Neels leads the team in attack percentage this year, hitting .308 at the net this season. She also ranks second on the team with 92 total blocks, while averaging 2.39 kills per set.
Mader went over the 1,000-assist mark late in the season and finished the regular season with 1,077 assists, averaging 9.13 per set. She ranks 20th nationally in total assists this year, while the Lions rank 22nd nationally in total assists as a team.
Northwest Missouri has won 11 matches in a row and are ranked fourth in the latest NCAA Central Region Rankings. The Bearcats finished 17-3 in the MIAA standings this year and are led by MIAA Player of the Year Alyssa Rezac who averages 10.96 assists per set this year. Payton Kirchoefer averages 3.56 kills per set, while Jaden Ferguson averages 3.01 kills per set. Kristen Ford leads the team with 3.95 digs per set, while Abby Brunssen has a team-high 82 blocks.
Live video and live stats are available for all matches at the Tournament and links to each can be found in the story links section above.
With a win, the Lions would advance to take on the winner of the Central Oklahoma-Washburn match at 7 pm on Friday evening.
