EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Missouri State's
Olivia Brand and
Lily Johnson combined for 31 kills and a .397 hitting percentage Friday evening to lead the volleyball Bears to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-19) victory at Evansville.
The Bears (13-7, 6-2 Missouri Valley Conference) maintained their third-place spot in the league standings with the win, while Evansville fell to 7-13 and 3-5 in MVC matches.
Brand and Johnson started quickly with 12 total kills on .455 hitting in the first set, but it was three Evansville attack errors that helped MSU during a 6-2 run for a 12-8 lead. Freshman
Lynsey Wright's kill capped a 3-0 run for a 19-14 lead, and Johnson's seventh kill of the period put the Bears ahead 24-16.
Missouri State fell behind 6-1 in the second set but had the lead at 12-10 after a 4-0 run that included kills from Brand and Wright. After the Purple Aces took the lead back, another 4-0 run had the Bears ahead 20-18. UE tied the set at 20-all when Johnson's kill gave the Bears the lead for good. Brand followed suit with MSU's final three kills for the 25-22 win.
A 7-1 run by Evansville put the Bears behind 12-10 midway through the third period before a block by Johnson and Wright swung the score in MSU's favor at 13-12. The Bears went up 15-13 on a Beaty kill and led 18-15 after two more from the senior. Kills by Brand and Johnson put the Bears up 20-16, and the Aces would get no closer than three points from there.
Brand finished the match with 16 kills, a career high for a three-setter, committing just two errors on 29 swings for a .483 hitting percentage. Johnson added 15 kills and hit .324 to become the first MVC player to reach 300 kills on the season.
Maddy Hogan led all players with 14 digs and
Kinsey McCarter had 46 assists as the Bears piled up 51 kills and hit .340 as a team compared to 37 kills and .157 hitting for Evansville.
The Bears finish their first time through the MVC schedule Saturday at 7 p.m. with a visit to Southern Illinois (9-11, 3-5). The Salukis lost 3-0 to Wichita State on Friday.
