MALIBU, Calif. -- Missouri State picked up a sweep of Wyoming Friday evening after falling to eighth-ranked Washington in four sets in the morning contest on the first day of the Pepperdine Asics Classic at Firestone Fieldhouse.

The volleyball Bears moved to 5-3 on the season, continuing their success against a difficult early-season schedule. Missouri State finishes its season-opening nine-match road swing Saturday at 6:30 p.m. against Pepperdine (5-2).

#8 Washington Recap (UW won 25-20, 21-25, 25-12, 25-23)
The Bears pushed the preseason Pac-12 favorites and eighth-ranked Huskies to within two points of a fifth set in a hard-fought defeat, losing 3-1 for the second time this season to a top-eight opponent.

Washington's defense stymied the Bears early with five early blocks on the way to an 11-6 lead in the first set. The Huskies went on a 3-0 run to lead 18-11 in response to a Lily Johnson ace, and pushed the margin to 21-13 before a late MSU charge. Aubrey Cheffey had two kills during a 4-0 run that closed the gap to 23-20, but UW scored the final two points for the win.

The Bears turned an 8-5 deficit into a 15-11 lead in the second set, coming out on top after four lead changes and 11 ties. Washington briefly regained leads of 19-18 and 20-19 before a Cambree Villarreal kill made it 21-10 Bears. Villarreal's fourth kill of the set put MSU up 22-21, Lynsey Wright followed with two more kills and Johnson added another to cap a closing 4-0 run and even the match. The Bears hit .327 with 18 kills and one error in the second.

The Huskies (6-1) led by at least three points after an early 4-0 in the third set as the Bears finished with as many kills as errors, and the fourth set began with a 7-4 Washington lead when the Bears came charging back, tying the score three times before back-to-back Johnson kills made for a 13-11 lead. The Huskies pushed ahead to 18-15 and Missouri State earned ties at 19 and 23 before UW scored the last two points for the win.

Johnson led the Bears with 15 kills, four aces and 18 digs, and Emily Butters lifted a season-high 27 digs to climb three spots to sixth place on MSU's career list. Washington hit .207 compared to .124 for MSU and held leads of 53-49 in kills, 88-86 in digs, and 15-5.5 in blocking.

Wyoming Recap (MSU won 25-21, 25-12, 25-18)
Missouri State served a season-high 10 aces and limited Wyoming (3-5) to a .105 attack efficiency in a sweep of the Cowgirls. The Bears were plus-15 at the service line in the match with aces and errors for both teams factored in, adding nine blocks and 54 digs in the contest.

Senior Lauren Boone swatted a season-high 10 kills and hit .500, Butters had 16 digs, and Daniele Messa had a double-double with 25 assists and 13 digs to go with four aces and three blocks.

The Bears served three aces in an 11-3 run midway through the first set for a 19-12 lead, only to see Wyoming block three attacks during a four-point span to pull even a 21-21. Wright answered with a kill and a block, Gerri Idos served MSU's fourth ace of the set, and Messa's solo block capped a 4-0 run to win the set.

Wright had three kills and two blocks by the time the Bears led 11-6 in the second set, and Boone and MacKenzie Irwin paired up for consecutive blocks during a 6-0 run for a 19-9 lead as MSU cruised to the double-digit win by limiting Wyoming to six kills against eight errors.

Missouri State raced to an 8-1 lead in the third set, but Wyoming challenged midway through the period by closing to 14-11. MSU picked up the next two points at the service line with a Cowgirl error and Messa ace, and led by four-plus points from there. Boone and Villarreal each had two kills in a 6-0 run to 23-13, and Wyoming fought off four match points before missing a serve to give MSU the win.