SPRINGFIELD -- The Missouri State volleyball team made its home debut Thursday night with an exciting 3-1 (25-20, 25-23, 24-26, 25-21) victory over Oral Roberts in the opening match of the University Plaza/Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational at Hammons Student Center.
The Bears and ORU each moved to 2-2 on the season as Missouri State limited the Golden Eagles to a .110 attack percentage while hitting .210 themselves and leading in kills (54-46), digs (64-60) and blocks (6-3).
Back-to-back blocks put the Bears ahead 15-11 in the first set after a 10-10 tie, and kills by
Lily Johnson and
Kinsey McCarter handed MSU leads of 18-14 and 21-17.
Simone House closed out the set with a kill as ORU hit .000 and
Maddy Hogan scooped eight digs.
Olivia Brand's sixth kill of the second set gave Missouri State a 15-12 advantage that represented the largest lead for either club to that point. The Golden Eagles tied the score at 19-all, but two errors and a McCarter kill quickly had the Bears back ahead 22-19, and House finished off another set with a kill for the 25-23 victory.
Oral Roberts jumped ahead early in the third set, gaining leads of 8-4, 14-10 and 18-12 before the Bears made a furious charge. MSU ripped off a 6-0 run with
Tatum Marshall on serve to grab a 23-22 lead, but ORU weathered the storm for the two-point win as the teams combined for 23 kills and 21 errors.
The visitors got off to another quick start in the fourth set, leading 9-5 before a 7-0 MSU run switched the momentum. ORU tied the score twice, and Johnson answered the second with consecutive kills to gain the lead for good at 18-16. McCarter kills accounted for three straight MSU points and a 24-19 lead that held up for the win.
Brand led the Bears with 15 kills and Johnson added 14, while McCarter had seven kills on .636 hitting to go with 42 assists and seven digs. Hogan added 19 digs and Marshall scooped a career-high 14, while House led all players with five blocks.
The tournament continues with four matches Friday and five more Saturday. The Bears play Western Kentucky at 7 p.m. Friday, and will hold a jersey retirement ceremony for long-time coach Linda Dollar between the second and third sets of that match. MSU concludes the weekend Saturday against Incarnate Word at 12:30 p.m. and Milwaukee at 7 p.m.
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