MIAA Volleyball Championships kick off Thursday at Civic Arena with No. 2 Griffons eyeing deep run

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Some of the top Division II volleyball teams in the country are set to clash in St. Joseph for the right to be called the MIAA Tournament Champion this week. 

St. Joseph Civic Arena will play host to the 2025 MIAA Volleyball Championships this Thursday with the No. 2-seeded hometown Griffons kicking off the tournament against No. 7 Pittsburg State at noon. 

This marks the fourth consecutive year that St. Joseph will host the MIAA Volleyball Championships at Civic Arena.

No. 2 Missouri Western vs. No. 7 Pittsburg State | Noon, Thursday

The Griffons enter the postseason as the No. 2 seed after finishing the regular season with a 21-6 record. Prior to the tournament they were on 12-game winning streak before falling to Nebraska Kearney in the last game of the regular season.

Missouri Western is led by junior Anna Weberg and Emma Salker. Weberg is ranked third in the conference in digs (5.13 digs per set) while Stalker is ranked fifth in blocks (1.17 blocks per set).

For the Gorillas, this marks their return to the MIAA tournament for the first time since 2022. This past season they finished 13-14 as the No. 7 seed and lead the conference in total blocks (298) with an average of 3.07 blocks per set.

Spearheading their postseason return are seniors Anna Dean and Josie McCroskey. Among the conference stat leaders, Dean ranks first in blocks (1.55 blocks per set) and McCroskey is fourth in digs (5.08 digs per set).

The Griffons have defeated the Gorillas in the last six consecutive meetings. The last time the Gorillas defeated the Griffons was Oct. 14, 2022 in St. Joseph.

No. 3 Washburn vs. No. 6 Central Missouri | 2:30 p.m. Thursday

The Ichabods and Mules face off for just the second time this season, where the Ichabods completed a sweep.

At 24-3, Washburn comes into the tournament riding a 3-game win streak, with 2 of the 3 games coming against other ranked tournament participants in No. 8 Fort Hays and No. 5 University of Central Oklahoma.

Of all participating teams they rank first in nearly every team statistics except opponent blocks (2nd), blocks (4th), opponent service aces (7th) and digs (9th).

On the Mules side, they finished the year at 20-7 while also carrying over a 3-game win streak. They are led by redshirt senior Grace Winkelmann who ranks second in digs per game (5.36).

No. 1 Nebraska-Kearney vs. No. 8 Fort Hays State | 5 p.m. Thursday

The second contest of the day will be a rematch from last years quarterfinals, a match that saw the Lopers sweep the Tigers in three sets.

As the No. 1 seed, the Lopers enter the tournament with the a conference-best record of 26-3 and are riding a two-game win streak.

As a team, Nebraska Kearney is highly ranked in many statistical categories, including hitting percentage (2nd), assists (2nd), opponent assists (5th), kills (2nd), blocks (2nd), opponent service aces (1st), digs (4th), and opponent digs (5th).

Graduate student Peyton Niffs leads all players in the conference in assists (11.39 assists per set).

The Tigers enter with a 16-12 record and are coming off a win in their regular season finale over Northwest Missouri State. Fort Hays ranks second in opponent service aces (0.96).

No. 4 Central Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Emporia State, 7:30 p.m. Thursday

Central Oklahoma comes into the tournament at 26-4 facing off against Emporia State (21-6) in a rematch of last years MIAA quarterfinals, a one sided affair that Central Oklahoma won 3-0.

If Thursday's rematch unfolds the way their most recent matchup went, fans will be in for a back-and-forth affair. The Bronchos narrowly defeated the Hornets in five sets during the second-to-last game of the regular season Nov. 13.

The Bronchos lead all teams in the conference in digs with an average of 19.86 digs per match. Their team leaders include Kaitlyn Parrott (1st in digs), Kamryn Glover (1st in aces) and Sydney Huck (1st in kills).

For Emporia State senior Boglarka Rady is fifth in digs per game. As a team the Hornets rank third in opponent assists (10.40) and 4th in opponent hitting percentage (0.163).