Final Stats

SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State opened the annual Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational Friday evening with a come-from behind five-set victory over Miami (Fla.) at Hammons Student Center. The Bears (4-0) won the final two sets to win by scores of 25-20, 16-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-6. The Hurricanes, which earned the No. 34 vote total in this week's AVCA Top 25 poll, fell to 3-1.

Missouri State outscored UM 32-17 after trailing 11-8 in the fourth set, and dominated the fifth period with 11 kills and a .429 hitting percentage in the 15-6 win.

From the 11-8 deficit midway through the fourth, the Bears scored in a variety of ways during an 11-2 run that ended on Ashley Ophoven's kill for a 19-13 advantage. Missouri State earned set point at 24-19 on a Simone House kill, and Kinsey Batten's kill finished off the 25-22 victory to force the fifth set.

The Bears took control of the match with a 7-0 run in the fifth that featured three Batten kills on the way to a 10-3 lead, and the Hurricanes never got closer than six points as House added three late kills, including the clincher.

Missouri State took an evenly-played first set after trailing 14-10, but could not match that effort in the second as the Hurricanes piled up six blocks and three aces to square the match.

Miami prevailed again in a back-and-forth third period, using runs of 5-0 and 4-0 after a 13-all tie to thwart MSU's late 7-0 spurt.

Lily Johnson led all players with 19 kills and added 13 digs for her 14th career double-double, while Lynsey Wright chipped in 11 kills for MSU. Emily Butters paced the Bears with 19 digs, and Batten had 47 assists and four kills.

Missouri State led UM in kills (60-54), hitting percentage (.233-.223), and digs (57-53), while the Hurricanes owned the edge in aces (8-6) and blocks (12-7).

The Bears play two matches on Saturday, taking on Oral Roberts (3-1) at 1 p.m. and Marquette (3-1) at 7:30 p.m.