JOPLIN, Mo. – SWOSU Volleyball went 0-2 on Friday at the Missouri Southern Lion Classic, dropping a close, four-set match with Black Hills State in the opener before falling in straight sets to Wayne State.
 
SWOSU (0-2) will conclude the Classic on Saturday, taking on CSU-Pueblo at 11:00 am and host Missouri Southern at 7:00 pm.
 
 
Black Hills State 3, SWOSU 1
   28-26, 23-25, 25-27, 15-25
   Box Score (html)
 
The Bulldogs dropped a hard-fought contest in the opener, playing the first three sets within two points before BHSU pulled away in the fourth to conclude the match. SWOSU had 54 kills in the match with 31 attack errors and finished with a .124 attack percentage, compared to Black Hills hitting at a .160 clip.
 
SWOSU started strong, getting five kills from Emily Wood and four apiece from Jenny Tackett and Sofia Gruden in the first set, which took extra points to decide. The Dawgs hit .207 for the set, but they were held under .160 in each of the final three sets as BHSU rallied for the victory.
 
Wood led the way for the Bulldogs with her first career double-double, totaling 13 kills and a career-high 18 digs in addition to two blocks. Gruden and Tackett contributed 12 kills and four blocks apiece while Brylee Burroughs chipped in six kills and Chezney Nielsen added five. Kaitlyn Dillon had a match-high 25 digs and seven assists and Allie Hoang started off her junior season with a double-double of 38 assists and 14 digs.
 
Wayne State 3, SWOSU 0
   12-25, 11-25, 13-25
   Box Score (html)
 
SWOSU struggled to get much going across the board against Wayne State, who defeated the Bulldogs in straight sets on Friday afternoon. SWOSU was limited to 23 kills and hit .070, getting a team-best five kills apiece from Nielsen and Burroughs.
 
Dillon again led the Dawgs with 13 digs while Hoang posted 10 assists and six digs. Burroughs had a team-best 7.0 points to her credit after adding one solo and two assist blocks as well.