A tightly-contested first set featured 13 ties before the Bears let a pair of set points slip through their fingers in the 28-26 loss. Missouri State grabbed its first lead during a 5-0 run that included Simone House and Andrea Beaty combining for three blocks to a 19-17 advantage. Kinsey McCarter and Elise Munroe scored back-to-back kills to put the Bears up 24-22, and NMSU rattled off a 3-0 run to lead 25-24. MSU then fought off two set points before the Aggies closed it out despite House and Beaty teaming up for five blocks in the period.

New Mexico State broke the second set open with a 5-0 run that included four MSU attack errors and resulted in a 12-6 lead. The Bears got no closer than five points from there, committing 11 attack errors and hitting -.086 in the set.

A Lily Johnson kill gave Missouri State an early 6-3 lead in third set, but the Bears did not lead again after New Mexico State's 4-0 run put the Aggies ahead 12-8. NMSU continued to pull away, hitting .306 in the final set to finish the match at .172 compared to .076 for the Bears.

Johnson finished the match with a team-high nine kills to go with seven digs, and fellow freshman Lynsey Wright added six kills and three blocks. McCarter led the Bears with 11 digs and 26 assists.

New Mexico State's Bradley Nash recorded 10 kills as the only player to reach double figures. Each team registered eight blocks, and the Aggies held a 52-45 advantage in digs to become just the ninth team in 95 matches to top the Bears in that category.

The Bears play two matches on Saturday, taking on Utah at 11 a.m. and Montana State at 6 p.m.

#MSUBears