UCO Suffers First Loss At Missouri Western

Bronchos Fall After 18-0 Start

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – No. 11-ranked Central Oklahoma suffered its first loss of the season Saturday afternoon, falling in four sets to MIAA rival Missouri Western.

The two teams split the first two sets, with the Griffons taking the opener 25-17 before UCO tied it with a 25-22 second-set victory. But MWSU came back with 25-18, 25-21 wins in the final two sets to seal the upset.

It was the first loss after a school-record 18-0 start by the Bronchos, who fell to 18-1 overall and 5-1 in league play. The Griffons improved to 14-4 and 5-2.

"Missouri Western has a really good team and we knew it was going to be a battle," head coach Edgar Miraku said. "They played better than we did today. It's tough to win on the road in this conference, but I'm proud of the way we battled.

"We just have to put this loss behind us and get ready for next week."

UCO returns home next week to host league foes Fort Hays State (Thursday) and No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney.

Jenna Karp led the Bronchos with 14 kills, while Mikaela Garvin had 11 kills and four assisted blocks and Sydney Huck 10 kills. Addison Wimmer chipped in nine kills and Lari Migliorino contributed five kills with five blocks.

Lindsey Houran handed out 45 assists in moving into fifth place on UCO's career list with 3,145. Katie Le had 17 digs and Kaitlyn Parrott 14 to pace the defense.

The first set was tied 13-13 before the Griffons pulled away for the win. UCO overcame a 9-7 deficit in the second set, getting two kills apiece from Garvin and Huck in a 7-1 run to take the lead for good.

MWSU was in control most of the third set and the Griffons used a late surge to pull away and take the fourth set in finishing off the match.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#1 Lindsey Houran: S; 5' 8"; Junior

#14 Sydney Huck: OH; 5' 10"; Junior

#7 Jenna Karp: MB; 6' 0"; Senior

#2 Katie Le: DS/L; 5' 3"; Senior

#10 Lari Migliorino: MB; 6' 0"; Junior

#9 Kaitlyn Parrott: DS/L; 5' 5"; Sophomore

#3 Addison Wimmer: OH; 5' 10"; Senior

#21 Mikaela Garvin: OH; 6' 2"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

#1 Lindsey Houran
: 5' 8"; Junior
: S

#14 Sydney Huck
: 5' 10"; Junior
: OH

#7 Jenna Karp
: 6' 0"; Senior
: MB

#2 Katie Le
: 5' 3"; Senior
: DS/L

#10 Lari Migliorino
: 6' 0"; Junior
: MB

#9 Kaitlyn Parrott
: 5' 5"; Sophomore
: DS/L

#3 Addison Wimmer
: 5' 10"; Senior
: OH

#21 Mikaela Garvin
: 6' 2"; Graduate Student
: OH