ORU Box Score | Marquette Box Score

SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State split a pair of matches at the annual Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational Saturday at Hammons Student Center, defeating Oral Roberts (4-2) by a 3-1 score in the afternoon before falling to Marquette (5-1) by the same margin in the nightcap.

The Bears moved to 5-1 on the season and joined each of Saturday's opponents in a three-way tie for the tournament title with a 2-1 record. Miami (Fla.) went 0-3 in the event. Marquette's Taylor Louis was named tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament squad by teammates Lauren Houg and Sara Blasier, Missouri State's Lily Johnson and Ashley Ophoven, ORU's Lucija Bojanjac, and Miami's Alexis Mourning.

The Bears wrap up their four-match homestand on Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Arkansas State.

Oral Roberts Recap (Won 18-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-17)
Johnson had 20 kills and 11 digs as the Bears battled back from a tough first set to win in four. MSU hit .319 as a team, with Kinsey Batten dishing out 43 assists and Ophoven adding 13 kills.

ORU used a pair of 5-0 runs after the scored was tied at 14 to win the first set, and MSU did the same in the second after Batten's solo block put the Bears ahead 15-10 after a 10-all tie. Johnson's kill made it 17-11, and Ophoven hit back-to-back scores for a 22-14 advantage as MSU hit .345 in the set.

Missouri State took the third set after a 19-19 tie, with Simone House's kill for a 20-19 lead tilting the score in MSU's favor for good. Lynsey Wright had a kill and Brianne Dixon added a service in as the Bears scored the final three points.

The Bears faced a 4-0 deficit in the fourth set and tied the score seven times before an ORU attack error gave the home team a 13-12 advantage. The Golden Eagles never regained the lead as House had two kills and two blocks during Missouri State's 9-1 closing run.

Marquette Recap (Lost 18-25, 23-25, 25-23, 24-26)
Marquette, ranked three spots outside this week's AVCA Top 25, got 30 kills from Louis and hit .325 as a team to squeak by the Bears.

MU had 17 kills and hit .516 as a team in the first set before each of the final three periods went down to the wire. The Golden Eagles took the second after using a 3-0 run to lead 13-10 and fending off the Bears each of the six times MSU had a chance to tie the score.

In the third set, Ophoven had a kill and a block during a 4-0 run that handed MSU an 18-15 lead, and added the final kill after MU closed to 24-23. Neither team led by more than two points in the fourth set, with the Bears climbing back from a 23-21 hole to force ties at 23 and 24 before the visitors hit two kills to win it.

Ophoven led the Bears with 16 kills and Johnson had 15 kills and 13 digs for her third double-double of the weekend. Wright added 11 kills, and Batten had 41 assists and 13 digs.