Bearcat vollyeball finishes 2-2 at Lady Blues Classic

The Northwest Missouri State volleyball team swept East Central (Okla.) Saturday morning before losing to Great American Conference co-leader Harding (Ark.) in four sets to finish 2-2 on the weekend at the Lady Blues Fall Classic in Topeka, Kan.

Northwest (11-8, 5-1) opened the tournament with a crushing five-set loss to Southern Nazarene Friday and beat Southwestern Oklahoma in three sets.

Their 2-2 showing against GAC competition matched what they did at previous tournaments in Rolla and West Palm Beach, Fla.

On Saturday, the Bearcats jumped out to an early lead against the Tigers and controlled all three games to win 25-17, 25-15, 25-8.

Northwest got 10 kills each from outsides Abby Graves and Brooke Bartosh. The pair also hit over .300 and the Bearcats hit .429 as a team in the fourth set.

Freshman Dallas Gardner distributed 21 assists while Tori Beckman steadied the defense with 14 digs.

In the Harding match, Northwest lost the first two sets 20-25, 12-25, stayed alive with a 25-20 win in set three but dropped the fourth set 22-25.

Middle blocker Whitney Mason and freshman Shelby Duren each tallied 15 kills. Duren recorded a double-double in the loss, adding 20 digs.

Harding denied Northwest often at the net, finishing with 10 blocks.

Gardner was Northwest's lone representative on the All-Tournament team.

The Bearcats return to MIAA play Wednesday with a road match against No. 7 Central Missouri.

Friday's results

Southern Nazarene rallied from a two-set deficit to stun Northwest 3-2 in the opening match of the Lady Blues Classic.

Nazarene won sets three and four 25-23 and the fifth set 15-12.

Northwest won the first set 25-22 and the second set 25-18.

Abby Graves posted a double-double with a match-high 19 kills and 16 digs.

Dallas Gardner was the team leader in assists with 27 and Tori Beckman came up with 12 digs.

The Bearcats bounced back to beat Southwestern Oklahoma 25-17, 25-19, 25-19 later in the day.

Gardner led the team Bearcats in kills with 11 and assists with 24. Beckman was the team leader in digs with 17.