Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern volleyball team came oh so close to closing the weekend 4-0 in its own tournament, but the Lions fell three sets to two to William Jewell in the final match of the Southern Invite.
 
Southern (3-1) won the opening two sets by scores of 25-17 and 25-15, before falling by identical scores of 25-22 in sets three and four. The Lions made a fierce comeback in the fifth and final set as the finale went extra points, but Southern fell 21-19.
 
Amelia Neels had 16 kills and hit .520, while pulling in four blocks. Fernanda Canedo and Irina Alekseeva had 11 kills each, while Amerika Jones had ten kills and three blocks. Sophie Mader dished out 29 assists, while Hannah Allick had 24 of her own. Abbie Casper had 22 digs and Kierson Maydew had six blocks.
 
WJC (2-2) was led by Bella LaPorta with 21 kills, while Katy Garrison had 15 of her own.
 
Set one saw four ties and two lead changes, but after the Cardinals got out 3-1 early, it was all Lions. Southern scored four-straight to lead 5-3. The set was tied at six again, but the Lions took a 7-6 lead and never looked back. The lead reached six (13-7) midway through and led 20-12 late, before putting away the set on an ace from Allick.
 
Set two saw just one tied score, but the Lions never trailed. A kill from Jones put Southern up 3-2 and the lead grew from there. The Lions led 12-4 and 20-8 with a kill from Jaryn Benning putting the set away.
 
Sets three and four were back and forth. Eleven tied scores and four lead changes highlighted those two sets that went to the Cardinals.
 
Set five started out all Cardinals. WJC led 8-1 at the turn, but the Lions started their comeback at that point. Four-straight points forced a WJC timeout and the Lions got within two (9-7) after a kill from Neels. The Cardinals had a 13-9 lead, but four-straight from the Lions tied the set at 13. From that point on, each team traded points before the Cardinals scored the final two to take the match.
 
The Lions had 12 team blocks and held WJC to a .163 attack average.
 
Southern will be back in action next weekend as the Lions travel to Denton, Texas to take part in the Denton Volleyfest hosted by Texas Woman's University.