Final Stats

SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State's Lily Johnson became the 20th MSU player and first sophomore to reach 1,000 career kills Friday as the Bears (21-9, 12-5 Missouri Valley Conference) swept Evansville (8-23, 2-15) by scores of 25-13, 25-22, 25-12 for their sixth consecutive win.

Johnson's milestone kill came early in the second set of her 62nd career match on the way to finishing with 20 on the night on 34 swings for a .500 hitting percentage. She also tied Joleen Meservy for second in school history with her 22nd career 20-kill match, and jumped three spots on the single-season list with 519 on the year.

MSU never trailed by more than one point in the first set, taking the lead for good with a 3-0 run that ended on a Kinsey Batten kill for 10-8. The Bears extended the lead to 16-10 with a 4-0 run, and back-to-back kills from Lauren Boone opened a closing 6-0 spurt as MSU hit .500 in the first period.

The Bears trailed 9-6 in the second set with Johnson and Lynsey Wright providing two kills apiece during a 4-0 run for a 10-9 advantage. A pair of Johnson aces made it 18-12, and Evansville evened the score at 19-all before a UE service error and Ashley Ophoven kill put MSU ahead for good at 21-19.

Missouri State closed the match on a 15-3 run, pulling away from a 10-9 score in the third set thanks to .344 hitting compared to -.029 for the visitors in the period.

Batten directed the Bears to a .364 hitting percentage, finishing with 40 assists and 10 digs. Emily Butters led four Bears in double figures with 20 digs, and Simone House participated in six of MSU's nine blocks.

Missouri State finishes the regular season Saturday at 7 p.m. against Southern Illinois (23-7, 14-3). The Salukis won 3-0 at Wichita State on Friday, securing at least the No. 2 seed in next week's MVC Tournament in Springfield, and leaving the Bears in line for the third spot and a Thursday night date with Loyola at Hammons Student Center.