CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Missouri State was within three points of a season-opening sweep of Xavier Friday evening before the Musketeers came back to earn a 3-2 win at the Illini Classic.

Set scores in favor of the Musketeers, who finished last season rated 65th in the RPI and are picked to finish third in the Big East in 2016, were 18-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17, 16-14.

The Bears appeared in control of the fifth set after three kills from Ashley Ophoven helped MSU to a 10-7 lead. Xavier used a 5-1 run to gain a 12-11 advantage before back-to-back kills from Lily Johnson gave Missouri State the upper hand at 13-12. XU countered with a kill and the teams traded errors to 14-14 when the Musketeers closed the match with two kills.

Missouri State trailed 12-10 in the first set prior to a strong closing run. The Bears earned their first lead during a 5-0 spurt to 15-12, and back-to-back aces from Tatum Marshall followed by a Cambree Villarreal kill gave the Bears a 21-15 lead that was more than enough to take the first set of the year.

An Emily Butters ace put the Bears up 2-0 in the second set and MSU stayed on top throughout for a 25-23 win. Missouri State led by as many as six points at 20-14 before the Musketeers charged back to pull to a 21-20 deficit. The Bears used a 3-0 run to gain set point, and Xavier fired back to within 24-23 before Lynsey Wright finished the set with a kill.

The Bears led 16-14 in the third set when Xavier went on a 4-0 run to lead 18-16. Missouri State tied the score twice, including at 22-22, but never retook the lead as XU extended the match. The Musketeers carried that momentum into the fourth period, hitting .421 with 18 kills compared to .108 and nine kills for the Bears in an comfortable win.

Johnson led all players with 20 kills to go with 13 digs, and Wright added 13 kills for MSU. Emily Butters led four players in double figures with 17 digs, while Lauren Boone had 40 assists and nine digs.

MSU hit .186 as a team compared to .251 for the Musketeers, trailed 80-71 in total digs, and held a 5-4 lead in blocking.

Missouri State plays two matches Saturday, taking on Arkansas at 12:30 p.m. and 14th-ranked Illinois at 7 p.m.