Aug. 26, 2011

Box Score

NORMAN, Okla. - The Missouri State volleyball team dropped the first set to Oral Roberts Friday but rebounded to win the next three for a 22-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-23 victory in the season opener for both squads at the Nike Oklahoma Invitational.

The Bears took advantage of some early Oral Roberts miscues to take a 10-3 lead in the first set before the Golden Eagles managed their first kill. MSU built the lead to eight before Oral Roberts ran off four points to make the score 12-8, and ORU continued to chip away at the Bears' lead to forge a tie at 20-20. Missouri State scored the next point on a Carly Thomas kill but ORU ended the set on a 5-1 run, recovering from a slow start to hit .235 while MSU fell to .162. Amber Doolittle had three kills on four swings to quickly match her career high on the way to 11 kills on .474 hitting in the contest.

Oral Roberts got the upper hand early in the second set before the Bears used a 10-1 run to go up 16-8. Christine McCartney had three kills in the spurt while Thomas added two aces to help MSU gain control. ORU closed to five points before the Bears pulled away.

Neither team led by more than a point in the third set until ORU went up 12-10 midway through. Then after a 14-12 score, the Bears reeled off a 5-0 run that included two kills, two blocks and an ace to take a 17-14 lead. Only a Missouri State service error prevented an 9-0 MSU run as the Bears extended their lead to 21-15 and coasted to the win. The Bears hit .308 in the period as McCartney hammered seven kills in 11 attempts.

The fourth set began much like the third before the Bears broke through with a two-point lead at 12-10. The teams traded points to 13-11 when the Golden Eagles went on a 5-1 run to lead 16-14. Five side outs followed before the second of consecutive Doolittle kills knotted the score at 18-apiece. Doolittle landed another kill for a 19-19 deadlock before two attack errors gave ORU a 21-19 advantage. The Bears answered with a McCartney kill followed by three unforced ORU errors and a block to gain match point at 24-21. Oral Roberts won the next two points and McCartney's 18th kill ended it for the Bears.

McCartney hit .351 on her 37 attempts and newcomer Karen Rivatto notched 11 kills and 10 digs for the double-double in her debut. Ashley Mason scooped 18 digs in her first career start at libero and Thomas dished out 46 assists, three shy of a career high.

The Bears play two matches Saturday, beginning with SMU at 10 a.m. and 16th-ranked Oklahoma at 7 p.m. The Sooners beat the Mustangs 3-0 on Friday.