Final Stats

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Missouri State won the first set of Thursday's NCAA Tournament first round match with Missouri, but couldn't capitalize on the momentum as the Tigers won the next three sets for a 21-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-17 victory at the Horesji Center.

Missouri State finished the season with a 24-11 overall record, while MU improved to 27-5.

The Bears never trailed in the first set thanks to a shutdown defense with five blocks and 20 digs to hold Mizzou to .044 hitting. Simone House's block for a 9-5 lead was MSU's fourth in the early-going, and Kinsey Batten's ace gave the Bears a 12-6 advantage. House scored a kill for 19-15 when the Tigers ripped off a 4-0 run to tie the score. The Bears countered with a 4-0 run of their own, including a block by House and Ashley Ophoven, and sided out with kills by Ophoven and Lynsey Wright from 23-19 to 25-21.

MSU got off to a quick start in the second period, with Ophoven providing three kills during a 6-0 run for a 7-3 lead. The Tigers responded with a 5-0 run to lead 8-7, and took the lead for good on a kill for 9-8. The Bears twice pulled within a point, the last at 19-18, before MU used a 5-1 run to gain set point at 24-19. MSU fended off three set points before the Tigers evened the match with a kill.

Both clubs found their offensive stride in the third, as the Bears hit .375 and MU hit .400, and the Tigers were able to hold off Missouri State after taking a 12-8 lead with their second ace. MU gained three points on MSU at the service line in the period, as the Bears were unable to get closer than two points after the 12-8 deficit.

The Bears never got closer than four points after the Tigers opened the fourth set on a 7-2 run. Caroline Finnell's kill pulled MSU to 14-10, but MU put the match away with a 7-0 run and hit .333 in the final period and .271 in the match compared to .246 for MSU.

Lily Johnson led all players with 24 kills, hitting .286 and adding 12 digs for her 23rd double-double of the year. Wright hit .375 with 12 kills, as MSU finished with 53 as a team compared to 59 for the Tigers.

MSU held a 59-57 edge in total digs, but served only one ace compared to eight for MU, and committed nine errors at the service.

End of year notes: Missouri State qualified for its 11th NCAA Tournament overall and eighth since 2003...The Bears finished the season with their highest win total since 2007...MSU completed its 17th consecutive winning season, reaching 20 wins in 16 of those years...Lily Johnson's 620 total kills on the season are the second-most at MSU and fourth-highest total in MVC history...Kinsey Batten finished the year with 1,522 assists, ranking second at MSU and ninth in MVC history...Batten also took over the 2015 NCAA lead in total assists with 43 in the Missouri match...Emily Butters set Missouri State's record for digs by a freshman, posting the No. 5 total in school history with 568 on the year....Ashley Ophoven's 278 total kills rank her 10th all-time among MSU freshmen.