PITTSBURG, Kan. - A pair of MIAA opponents proved too tough for the Newman volleyball team to handle in the final day of the Pitt State Regional Volleyball Challenge. The Jets dropped matches to Northwest Missouri State and Pittsburg State Saturday at John Lance Arena in Pittsburg, Kan.

Northwest Missouri State 3, Newman 1 (18-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-21)
Newman (2-12) was credited with the opening point of the match after a Northwest Missouri State (6-9) attack error. Six points later, the Jets used another Bearcat error to break a 3-3 tie, and never looked back. While never leading by more than three points, Newman never felt threatened in the opening set, and picked up a 25-18 win.

The Jets were threatened in the second set. NWMSU bolted to a 6-1 lead thanks to five Newman errors, and a block assist by Brooke Bartosh and Amy Majors. Newman trailed by at least five for the remainder of the set while the Bearcats cruised to the 25-15 second set win.

Newman returned the favor in the third set, jumping to a 6-1 lead of its own after a Kristen White ace, but the Bearcats were up to the task. NWMSU scored the next three points to pull within two, 6-4. After responding with a three-point streak of its own, Newman regained a 10-5 lead, and led by at least three until the 13-10 mark. That's when things got ugly for Newman. The Bearcats scored 11 of the next 12 points in the match, including a series of seven straight points to take a 20-14 lead, and demolished Newman's momentum. The Jets could never recover, and dropped the third set, 25-19.

For the third-straight time in the match, a set opened with one team taking a 6-1 lead. This time it was the Bearcats, and they used the momentum from that opening run to control the set. Newman trailed by at least four until three-straight Haley Dotson kills pulled the Jets back to within 12-11. That was as close as Newman could get, however. NWMSU answered with a 5-2 spurt and never looked back, sending Newman off the court with a 25-21 loss.

Karol Marins led the Jets offensively with 18 kills while Haley Dotson added 17 kills of her own. Gabby Loxterman assisted 44 of Newman's 51 kills. Defensively, Kristen White cleaned up 10 digs while Katelyn Schmidtberger added nine digs before leaving the match early with an leg injury.

The Jets posted a .147 attack percentage in the match, while Northwest hit at a .266 clip.

Pittsburg State 3, Newman 0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-14)
After a break of nearly four hours, Newman (2-13) appeared well-rested and ready to take on the hosting Pitt State Gorillas (5-12) in the final match of the event. The Jets jumped out to a 3-1 lead, and hung with the Gorillas until the 7-7 mark, but four-straight PSU points gave the hosts an 11-7 lead. Newman crawled back to within two, 15-13, after a Dotson kill, but the Gorillas answered with seven-straight points to take a 22-13 lead, and scored three of the next four points in the match to open the contest with a 25-14 first-set win.

Pitt State stole the early momentum in the second set, taking a 7-2 lead, but Newman answered with seven-straight points to tie the match at 9-9 after a PSU attack error, but could never take the lead. The Jets forced ties at 15-15 and 16-16, but a three-point swing that gave PSU a 19-6 lead proved to be too much for Newman to overcome as the Gorillas took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-20 second-set win.

The Jets ran out of fuel in the third set. Pitt State jumped out to a 7-1 lead and never looked back, leading by as many as 18-7 mid-way through the set before four-straight points pulled the Jets back to within 18-11, but that was as close as Newman could get. Pitt State completed the three-set sweep with a 25-14 win in the third and final set.

Haley Dotson led the Jets offense in the loss, finishing with 14 kills. No other Newman player finished with more than five kills. Gabby Loxterman assisted 23 of Newman's 26 kills. Defensively, Kristen White and Amanda Savage each posted nine digs.

After Saturday's sweep, the Jets fall to 2-13 on the season. They will continue non-conference play Tuesday, hosting Catholic rival Rockhurst in a 7 p.m. contest inside Fugate Gymnasium.