JOPLIN, Mo. -- Northeastern State volleyball battled Southwest Baptist throughout Saturday morning's match at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center, but the RiverHawks fell to the Bearcats 3-0, 25-20, 25-17, 25-19.
Northeastern State showed its strongest push in the third set, taking a 19-17 lead after three consecutive kills. Following an SBU timeout, a RiverHawks' service error allowed for an 8-0 run to clinch the match.
Poliana Lazarini led the RiverHawks with seven kills and six digs.
Ashlyn Tag also recorded seven kills, while
Avery Dempsey added four kills and
Lanie Brown finished with four.
Tiyana Bhatte paced the NSU offense with 13 assists and added two kills and a service ace.
Sydney Dunkleberger contributed 11 assists and a team-high 10 digs.
Northeastern State (0-3) finished with 34 kills and 39 digs. The RiverHawks also recorded six service aces, led by Dunkleberger with two.
Jordyn Berger, Bhatte, Tyler and Lazarini each added an ace.
The RiverHawks committed 12 errors in the opening set and could not recover from an early run of six answered points from the Bearcats.
Southwest Baptist built an early lead in the second set, but NSU continued to battle. The RiverHawks pulled within 20-17 late before the Bearcats scored the final five points to take a 2-0 match lead.
Southwest Baptist (3-0) was led by Aubrie Fellmeth and Essence Gilmer with 10 kills apiece, while Hanna Klein added nine. The Bearcats hit .330 as a team and recorded eight blocks.
Northeastern State closes out its weekend in Joplin Saturday evening when it faces Northwestern Oklahoma at approximately 5 p.m.
