St. LOUIS -- Missouri State's Lynsey Wright and Daniele Messa were named the Missouri Valley Conference Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively, Monday for their performances in the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational last week.

The duo helped the Bears to a 4-0 record at home, including a win against 12th-ranked Ohio State. MSU continued to move up in the national polls this week, collecting 83 votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll for the No. 27 spot, and climbing to 28th in the PrepVolleyball poll.

Wright earned MVP honors at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational, hitting .389 with a .558 kill percentage in four matches with averages of 4.08 kills, 4.65 points, 0.62 blocks, 0.23 aces and 0.62 digs per set. 

The junior middle blocker's signature match came Friday in MSU's victory over Ohio State, as she piled up 20 kills on .289 hitting with a career-high six blocks. The junior opened the week with 15 kills on 24 swings and a .524 hitting percentage in a sweep of McNeese, and had six kills in seven attempts against Western Illinois. 

The Glen Carbon, Ill., product finished her MVP performance Saturday evening with 12 kills on .308 hitting with two aces and a block against IUPUI.

Messa averaged 10.73 assists per set as the MSU offense hit .255 in the four wins. Against No. 12 OSU, Messa had a double-double with 48 assists and 11 digs, adding a kill and two blocks in the win. 

The setter from Bartlett, Ill., began the week with 29 assists and six digs as the Bears hit .346 in a sweep of McNeese, and guided MSU to a .345 attack efficiency with 30 assists and eight digs against Western Illinois. She concluded the week with a career-high 54 assists against IUPUI, adding 10 digs for another double-double.

The Bears continue their difficult schedule this week with four matches away from home, including three against 2015 NCAA Tournament teams. MSU plays at Arkansas State on Tuesday at 6 p.m., and takes on Milwaukee, Marquette and Iowa State this weekend in the Marquette Invitational.