Grizzlies defeat Lewis & Clark, St. Louis Community College

The No. 10 Missouri State University-West Plains (3-1) Grizzly Volleyball team took to the road for two games against Lewis & Clark Community College and St. Louis Community College.

Results from Lewis & Clark game 

The Grizzlies closed out the Trailblazers in straight sets, 25-15, 25-17, 25-14 to improve to 4-1 on the young season. 

Angelina Hardison led with 8 kills and a .538 hitting percentage. She also pitched in three aces. Lauren Weber led in 20 digs (6.67 digs per set). Raina Forstrom had two total blocks.

As a team, the Grizzlies served well and aggressive, recording six aces. They also had 15 digs per set as a team and did a good job keeping the ball off the floor.

"Angie has come a long way as a middle for us. She is consistently making herself available and putting herself in great position to be very offensive. She becomes primary option more and more every game," head coach Paula Wiedemann said. 

"Our defense is how we are going to be great and beat great teams. We must be able to stay in points longer and outlast teams, so we will continue to work on that. We saw just how good we could be in this game," the coach added. 

Results from St. Louis CC game

Riding a three-game win streak, the Grizzlies stayed hot as they defeated the St. Louis Community College Archers in three sets, 25-17, 25-9, 25-18. 

Alana Moesch led with 14 kills and a .591 hitting percentage. She also had 15.0 earned points. Doga Kutlu had 30 total assists, averaging 10 per set. Ilana Assis had nine digs for three digs per set. 

As a team, the Grizzlies were aggressive again from the service line, accumulating six aces in the match. The Grizzlies also had 13.3 kills per set and had 50 earned points. 

"Alana had a very successful game offensively. She took care of the ball and found ways to score. Her ability to cut around the block is impressive, and she's getting more comfortable with that advantage," Wiedemann said.

"Ilana Assis has stepped into a new role for us, and her fiery energy provides an edge we need as a team. She is super competitive and aggressive, and you can see it in the way she plays," Wiedemann said. 

"To have 13.3 kills per set means we executed successfully on offense. We passed well enough to stay in system more often and we saw how that helped our efficiency. Our serving and passing were huge game changers in this game and we'll continue to see success if we can keep putting them together like we did today," Wiedemann said.

Up next

The next time the nationally ranked Grizzlies (5-1) take the court, it will be at their season home opener against Jefferson College (3-5) on Sept. 15 at the West Plains Civic Center. The game will be accompanied by the Grizzly Athletics Fall Picnic where there will be plenty of food and entertainment 

For more information about the Grizzly Volleyball program, visit msuwpgrizzlies.com.