COLUMBIA, S.C. – A victory by Missouri State's Sam Brinkmann and Sarah Demmer in a winner-take-all No. 4 match Saturday afternoon gave the Bears a 3-2 victory over Tulane to finish the school's second season of beach volleyball with a winning record. 

The Bears bounced back from a tough 3-2 morning loss to UNC Wilmington in the Palmetto Invitational to post a 12-11 overall mark, and seven players posted at least 10 victories on the season, all topping last year's individual high of nine wins.

After MSU won by forfeit in the No. 5 match against Tulane for a 1-0 lead, the teams alternated wins and losses, with the Bears getting a straight set win by Sydney LeMay and Kylee Davis in the third flight, and the Green Wave tying the score with victories in the top two spots for a 2-2 score.

That left Brinkmann and Demmer as the last remaining contest, and the MSU duo edged out a 21-18 win in the first set before taking the second by a convincing 21-13 margin to give the Bears a season-ending victory.

In the morning match, LeMay and Davis were victorious in straight sets by identical 21-19 scores to finish the season with a 5-1 record together. MSU also got a win from Mikaela Mosquera and Chloee McDaniel in the No. 2 pair, but the Seahawks had already clinched by winning the first three pairs to finish play.

LeMay finished the season with a team-best 15-7 record, followed by Davis at 14-8. Demmer and Brinkmann both won 12 matches, keeping them tied for the school's career lead with 20 victories. The Bears thrived in the bottom three lineup spots as a team, going 14-9 or better in each of the Nos. 3-5 pairs.
 
UNCW 3, Missouri State 2:
No. 1 - Katie McCullough/Maddy Kline (UNCW) def. Julia Hanson/Kelsey Larsen (MSU) 22-20, 21-10
No. 2 - Mikaela Mosquera/Chloee McDaniel (MSU) def. Lexie Hamilton/Jaime Thomas (UNCW) 21-19, 21-12
No. 3 - Sydney LeMay/Kylee Davis (MSU) def. JMLewandowski/Halle Hunt (UNCW) 21-19, 21-19
No. 4 - Raquel Rooney/Brynn Montgomery (UNCW) def. Ivy Reynolds/Sarah Demmer (MSU) 21-16, 21-15
No. 5 - Reagan Evans/Anna Grauel (UNCW) def. Veronica Snelling/Abby Jackson (MSU) 21-10, 23-21
Ext. - Bentley Mara/Sam Brinkmann (MSU) def. Kyla Augustine/Caroline Marsh (UNCW) 21-13, 21-13
Order of finish: 4,5,1,2,3

Missouri State 3, Tulane 2:
No. 1 - Kaylie McHugh/Eva Toruella (TUL) def. Julia Hanson/Kelsey Larsen (MSU) 21-13, 21-15
No. 2 - Lauren Orlich/Tarin Mergener (TUL) def. Chloee McDaniel/Mikaela Mosquera (MSU) 22-20, 21-15
No. 3 - Sydney LeMay/Kylee Davis (MSU) def. Ellie Leitko/Haley Gibson (TUL) 21-11, 21-15
No. 4 - Sam Brinkmann/Sarah Demmer (MSU) def. Morgan Esters/Gabriella Becerra (TUL) 21-18, 21-13
No. 5 - Abby Jackson/Ivy Reynolds (MSU) def. No player/No player (TUL), by forfeit
Order of finish: 5,1,3,2,4