Final Stats

SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State won the first two sets of the Missouri Valley Conference title match Saturday, and then spoiled seven Wichita State match point opportunities in the fifth before the Shockers completed the comeback for the 3-2 (24-26, 20-25, 27-25, 25-17, 18-16) victory.

The Bears moved to 24-10 overall, and with five RPI top-50 victories on the season remain in solid position for an at-large bid to their 11th NCAA Tournament, which will be selected Sunday at 8 p.m. on ESPNU. The Shockers (26-8) earned the MVC's automatic bid with the victory.

After hitting .444 in the first two sets to build a commanding lead, the Bears struggled to find gaps in WSU's once-porous defense after intermission, hitting .255 in the third period and .111 in the fourth, as the Shockers combined for 48 digs and nine blocks in those two sets.

Wichita State's momentum continued into the fifth with back-to-back blocks for a 4-1 lead. MSU pulled to 6-5 on a Simone House kill, but WSU responded with a 3-0 run and eventually gained match point at 14-9.

The Bears clawed back with a 5-0 run to tie the set at 14-all on Lily Johnson's kill, and the MVC Player of the Year added two more kills for ties at 15 and 16, though MSU was never able to gain the lead. The Shockers earned their eighth chance at match point with a kill, and tournament MVP Jody Larson converted with a kill for the 18-16 win.

MSU trailed for only three total points in the first two sets, and had the match within reach in the third but were unable to convert several tries to take a lead. After trailing 4-1, MSU fought back to tie the set 13 separate times before the Shockers prevailed 27-25. WSU then used a 7-1 run in the fourth to go ahead 15-10, and led by at least two points from there to extend the match.

Johnson led MSU with 26 kills, giving her 596 on the season for the No. 2 spot in MSU history, while Ashley Ophoven notched a career-high 20 and Lynsey Wright (14) and House (11) joined her in double figures.

Emily Butters matched a career high with 29 digs, Kinsey Batten had 63 assists, and House equaled a season high with seven blocks.

The match was almost a statistical dead heat, as WSU led in kills (81-80) and blocks (14-9), while MSU owned leads in total digs (99-98) and hitting percentage (.286-.278).

Johnson and Wright earned all-tournament honors for the Bears, while Brianne Dixon was the MVC Elite 18 Award winner, given to the participant with the highest cumulative grade point average.