PITTSBURG, Kan. --- The Western Colorado volleyball team dropped both matches Friday in the Gorilla Classic, falling to Midwestern State 3-2 (21-25, 25-19, 12-25, 25-22, 15-5) and to Missouri Western 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 25-15).

In the season opener against Midwestern, the Mountaineers took a 2-1 set lead thanks to a dominating 25-12 win in set three.But MSU took the next two sets to snag the match from Western. Maddy Johnson and Jordyn Todd paced the Mountaineers with nine kills apiece while Emilee Scates and Emily Mangone had eight each. Hanna Hendrickson led Western with 34 assists while Scates added a team-high three aces and Elizabeth Rupprecht had 18 digs.

In the second match of the day, the Mountaineers fell in straight sets to Missouri Western. Todd had a team-high eight kills, Hendrickson had 18 assists while Lyria Brook led Western with 13 digs.

Western plays two again Saturday to wrap up the Gorilla Classic, going up against East Central at 10:30 a.m. and host Pittsburg State at 3:30 p.m.