SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State opened its 2022 volleyball season Friday with a 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-10, 25-22) victory over visiting Tennessee Tech in the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational at Hammons Student Center.

Manuela Ibarguen posted team highs of 14 kills and a career-best 21 digs, Iva Halacheva hit .381 with 12 kills and Maddy Bushnell added 10 to put three Bears in double digures.

The MSU defense held TTU to a .124 hitting percentage, with Kate Owen (19), Teagan Polcovich (14) and Deja Bickers (10) making for a diversified defensive effort. Azyah Green played a part in eight of the Bears' 10 blocks, while Owen and Morgan Sprague each served three aces.

The Bears waited until leading 22-11 in the first set before making their first attack error of the season in a comfortable win, but a few late miscues spilled over into a .067 efficiency in the second frame that allowed the Golden Eagles to even the match.

Missouri State took command of the third set with a 6-0 run that included two Sprague aces for an 18-6 lead, while Halacheva went 5-for-5 on the attack and the Bears successfully sided out all 10 TTU serves.

Then down 20-19 in the fourth, the Bears denied Tech a chance at extending the match, closing on a 6-2 run thanks to four kills, a block and a TTU error.
 
The Bears improved to 19-5 at home and 14-4 in non-conference matches under third-year head coach Steven McRoberts.

Missouri State takes on Central Arkansas at 3 p.m. Saturday. UCA went 2-0 on Friday to begin its season.