WARRENSBURG, Mo. — Missouri Southern State lost to Central Missouri 3-0 on Friday. Missouri Southern finished with 26 kills and a .063 hitting percentage, compared with 43 kills and a .233 percentage for Central Missouri.
MSSU is 6-12 overall and 1-6 in Mid-America Intercollegiate play. Central Mo. is 13-8 overall and 5-2 in Mid-America Intercollegiate play.
Kaelyn Kendrick led the Lions with 10 kills and 11 points.
Grace Gardner added eight kills while hitting .286 and collected seven digs.
Hanna Lauterbach recorded five total blocks and three kills on 12 attacks.
Brenna Weaver finished with a team-high 14 assists and added three digs.
Southern moved within 12-10 in the first set before Central Missouri scored six straight points to create the separation in a 25-18 set. Earlier, Kendrick and Gardner helped the Lions answer the opening deficit with kills, and
Hanna Lauterbach added a kill from
Brenna Weaver as Missouri Southern continued to trade sideouts. The Jennies run pushed the margin to 18-10, and MSSU later faced a 23-13 deficit.
Reagan Ashby served back-to-back aces during a four-point Southern response that made it 23-17, and
Addysen Alvis added a late kill before Central Missouri closed the set at 25-18.
Missouri Southern built a 14-10 lead in the second set, using
Addysen Alvis kills and points off Central Missouri errors before the Jennies answered to tie it at 14. Earlier, Alvis had back-to-back kills from
Brenna Weaver to push MSSU ahead 6-4, and
Epifania Salamasina's serving rotation helped extend the margin to 10-6 with another Alvis kill and a block by Weaver and
Hanna Lauterbach. After Central Mo. drew even, Gardner put down a kill and
Ella Breazeale and Kendrick combined on a block to give the Lions a 16-14 edge. Central Missouri responded with five straight points to move ahead 19-16, and although Kendrick added two late kills, Southern could not close the gap as Central Missouri finished the set 25-18.
MSSU cut into a 24-16 deficit with a late push, using
Abby Morris' serve to take four straight points and get within 24-21 before Central Mo. finished the set. Earlier, Gardner opened the set with three kills among Missouri Southern's first five points, and
Hanna Lauterbach teamed with Gardner and
Addysen Alvis on blocks as the Lions tied the set at 8-8. The Jennies created separation through the middle and late stages, including a five-point stretch that moved the score from 18-13 to 22-13. Southern answered with points from a
Hanna Lauterbach kill, two blocks and
Abby Morris service ace during the closing run, but Central Missouri took the set, 25-21.
