JOPLIN, Mo. — Missouri Southern State lost to Northwest Missouri State 3-1 on Friday, falling 19-25, 25-23, 17-25, 23-25. Missouri Southern hit .215 and totaled 10 blocks, but Bearcats finished with 52 kills and 10 service aces.
The Lions are 6-10 overall and 1-4 in Mid-America Intercollegiate play. Northwest Mo. St. is 6-9 overall and 3-2 in Mid-America Intercollegiate play.
Kaelyn Kendrick led Missouri Southern with 15 kills and 16.5 points while adding three blocks.
Brenna Weaver finished with 41 assists, 13 digs, three blocks and two kills on two attacks.
Olivia Burmeister posted five blocks and added five kills while hitting .400.
Kasey Goldberg collected 14 digs, four assists and two service aces.
Missouri Southern built two mid-set leads, but Northwest Mo. St. won eight of the final nine rallies after trailing 18-17 to take the opening set 25-19. Earlier, the Lions answered a 6-3 deficit with six straight points, getting a kill from Kendrick, back-to-back blocks involving
Brenna Weaver and Burmeister, and an
Addysen Alvis kill to move ahead 9-6. Northwest Mo. St. tied the set at 9-9 and later led 14-12, but
Hanna Lauterbach and
Grace Gardner put down kills before
Kasey Goldberg served consecutive aces for a 17-15 Missouri Southern lead. Gardner added another kill for an 18-17 edge, but the Lions managed only one more point, a
Brenna Weaver kill from
Jordyn Whitfield, as Northwest Mo. St. closed out the set.
Missouri Southern's key response came early in the second set, when it erased a 7-4 deficit and moved in front 9-8 behind two Kendrick kills, a block by
Brenna Weaver and
Hanna Lauterbach and Northwest Mo. St. attack errors. The set stayed tight through ties at 13, 14, 16, 17 and 18, with Gardner, Burmeister,
Addysen Alvis and Kendrick recording kills as the Lions repeatedly answered Northwest Mo. St. points. After an 18-18 score, Alvis delivered a kill from Weaver, then Northwest Mo. St. errors during
Kasey Goldberg's service turn pushed MSSU ahead 22-18. Northwest Mo. St. cut the margin to 22-20 before Burmeister answered with a Weaver-assisted kill, and an attack error later gave Southern set point at 24-22. After Northwest Mo. St. made it 24-23, Gardner finished the set with a kill from Weaver for a 25-23 Missouri Southern win.
The Lions moved within two late in the third set, but Northwest Mo. St. scored the final six points to close out a 25-17 set. Earlier, Southern recovered from a 2-0 start with an
Addysen Alvis ace, a Kendrick kill and an opponent error to take a 4-3 lead. After falling behind 14-9, Missouri Southern put together four straight points behind kills from Alvis, Burmeister and Gardner to trim the deficit to 14-13. Northwest Mo. St. rebuilt its cushion, but a block by Kendrick and
Kenzie Jones and another Kendrick kill helped the Lions get back to 19-17 before the visitors finished the set.
Southern pushed back late in the fourth set, using a Burmeister-Gardner block and a
Brenna Weaver ace to pull within 23-22, but Northwest Mo. St. held on for a 25-23 set win. Earlier, the Lions opened with a 5-1 lead behind kills from
Addysen Alvis and Burmeister and a block by Gardner and Burmeister before Northwest Mo. St. tied it at 5-5. Kendrick helped Missouri Southern answer later with multiple kills, including back-to-back points that brought the set even at 16-16 after a
Hanna Lauterbach-Kendrick block. Northwest Mo. St. moved back in front and reached 21-17, and although kills from
Hanna Lauterbach and Alvis kept the Lions within range, Southern could not complete the late comeback.
