Missouri State’s volleyball team reached the 20-win mark for the eighth consecutive season with a 3-0 (30-14, 30-27, 30-20) sweep of MVC rival Evansville Friday evening at Hammons Student Center in Springfield. The Bears moved to 20-6 overall and 10-3 in the Valley, while Evansville dropped to 11-14 and 5-9 in the league.
MSU came out on fire offensively, racking up 20 kills on .405 hitting in the first game. Erin O’Connor and Jamie Adams each tallied six kills in the 30-14 win.
The Purple Aces rebounded in the second game, jumping out to a 17-11 lead midway through the period. MSU went on a 4-0 run before the teams traded serves for three points. Now trailing 18-17, O’Connor took to the service line and dealt four aces in five serves to give the Bears a 22-18 lead. The Aces would regain a 26-25 lead but lose five of the final six points and see Missouri State take the 30-27 game win.
MSU never trailed in a 30-20 game three win. Freshman Shanda Harper had eight of her match-high 13 kills in the final period, doing so on just nine swings, and Sara Thomas added four kills without an error.
Missouri State finished the match with a .232 attack effiency to UE’s .083.
Adeana McAfee had 19 digs to move into second-place on MSU’s career list with 1,350 total, and Thomas added 17, a career-best for a three-game match.
The Bears take on Southern Illinois (11-13, 6-8) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Hammons. The match will be televised live on Mediacom channel 14 in the Springfield area.
