PITTSBURG, Kan. - The Newman volleyball snapped a six-match skid with a four-set win over Missouri Southern Friday afternoon in its opening contest at the Pittsburg State Regional Challenge. That celebration was short-lived, however, as the Jets were swept by Midwestern State in their late game.

Newman 3, Missouri Southern 1 (14-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-14)
The first set seemed to serve as a warm-up period for the Jets, who were facing the Lions for the second time this month. Newman (2-10) hung with Missouri Southern (3-10) until the 7-7 mark, but back-to-back attack errors and a Danielle Severns kill spotted the Lions a 10-7 lead. Chelsea Helena responded with a kill to pull the Jets back to within two, 10-8, but a Katelyn Schmidtberger service error sparked a 10-1 Lion run that gave MSSU a 20-9 advantage. From there, the Lions cruised to the 25-14 first-set win.

Newman made its statement in the early stages of the second set. The Jets bolted out to a 4-1 lead after three Karol Marins kills and a kill from Haley Dotson. Newman extended its lead to 9-3 after another Dotson kill, but the Lions would not go quietly. MSSU scored the next six points to pull within two, 10-8, but Newman countered with a four-point run thanks to a pair of Chelsea Helena kills to regain a 14-8 lead. The Lions rallied to within two once more, but could not pull closer as the Jets evened the match with a 25-19 second-set victory.

Missouri Southern appeared to be interested in taking control of the match in the third set. The Lions roared to a 6-1 lead in the set, and maintained a lead of at least five until the 9-4 mark when a Sydney Potts service error gave the ball and the serve to Kristen White and the Jets. In the following moments, Newman found three-straight kills from Helena before White decided to change things up with a service ace that pulled the Jets to within one, 9-8, and forced MSSU head coach Trish Knight to use her first timeout. Helena followed the timeout with another three-consecutive kills. Schmidtberger added a kill of her own to the mix to give Newman a 12-9 lead. The Jets built that lead to as many as 19-14 late in the set, and took control of the match with a 25-20 third-set win.

The Lions appeared completely deflated in the fourth and final set of the match. Newman raced to a 6-2 lead, and extended that lead to 8-3 thanks to a series of MSSU attack errors. Missouri Southern answered another Helena kill with a four-point spurt that tied the set at 10-10 before Alysia Heideman's kill gave the Jets an 11-10 lead, one they would not give up. Newman used an eight-point run to completely deflate the Lions, and clinched the match with a 25-14 fourth-set victory.

Haley Dotson led the Jets offensively in the win. The sophomore posted 14 kills on 34 attempts and commptted just five errors en route to a .265 attack percentage. Chelsea Helena finished one kill behind Dotson, posting 13 kills in the match. Gabby Loxterman was on the scene for assists on 39 of Newman's 49 kills in the match. Defensively, Kristen White dug 19 balls, while Amanda Savage added 10 digs of her own.

As a team, the Jets hit .147, posting 49 kills on 136 attempts, while limiting Missouri Southern to a .090 attack percentage.

Midwestern State 3, Newman 0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-20)
As enjoyable as the Jets' tournament opener was, the team's second game in Friday's tournament play was every bit as unenjoyable. Midwestern State sent the Jets home for the evening with a three-set sweep.

Newman (2-11) scored the first point of the match with a Gabby Loxterman service ace, and kept things interesting until the 9-9 mark, but a series of Newman errors combined with a pair of Midwestern State (8-6) kills allowed the Mustangs to take a 19-11 lead. The Jets could never recover from that spurt, and dropped the opening set, 25-19.

The Jets were forced to play from behind from the early stages of the second set. Midwestern State took an early 4-1 lead, and led by at least three for the remainder of the set. Newman never scored more than two-straight points as Midwestern State picked up another 25-19 win in the second set.

Newman switched things up in the third set, taking a 3-1 lead out of the gate. The Jets led until the 9-8 mark of the set, but the Mustangs slowly began to pull away. Midwestern State took a 13-11 lead after a Kiara Jordan service ace, and led by as many as 23-17 before a three-point swing pulled Newman back to within four, 24-20, but by that point it was too late as MSU completed the sweep with a 25-20 third-set win.

Karol Marins led all Newman attackers in the match, posting eight kills on 28 attempts. Haley Dotson and Katelyn Schmidtberger each added seven kills for the Jets, who were able to post just 32 kills as a team. Gabby Loxterman assisted on 24 of those kills. Defensively, Kristen White recorded 13 digs as the only Newman defensive player in double figures.

The split drops Newman's record to 2-11 on the season. They will return to action Saturday, taking on MIAA foes Northwest Missouri State and Pittsburg State in the final games of the PSU Regional Challenge.