SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State wrapped up its season-opening weekend Sunday after with a 3-2 setback to visiting Oral Roberts in the final match of the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational at Hammons Student Center.

The teams split the first four sets with the Golden Eagles (2-1) eventually winning by scores of 21-25, 25-20, 14-25, 25-21, 15-10, ending a streak of 22 consecutive match victories for Missouri State (1-2) when it wins the opening set.

Missouri State got six kills without an error from Manuela Ibarguen in the first set as the senior finished the match with 12 kills and 20 digs for her third straight double-double.

ORU led wire-to-wire in the second, and the Bears blew open the third with a 6-0 run that included two aces from Kate Owen to lead 18-9.

The Golden Eagles answered again to lead 19-13 in the fourth and held off an MSU charge that saw the home team climb within a point in three separate occasions down the stretch.

The Bears led 7-5 in the fifth when ORU reeled off four in a row for a 9-7 advantage it would not give back. The Golden Eagles' defense stymied MSU into a .000 attack efficiency in the final period.

Maddy Bushnell led the Bears with 14 kills on .273 hitting, and MSU hit .143 as a team compared to .153 for the visitors.

Missouri State's 97 digs were the team's most since April 2021, with Owen (22), Ibarguen (20), Teagan Polcovich (19) and Morgan Sprague (18) leading the way.   

The Bears head to the Mizzou Invitational in Columbia Sept. 2-3, facing Northwestern State and Missouri on Friday and Abilene Christian on Saturday.

All-Tournament Team:
Laci Bohannon (MVP), Central Arkansas
Leigh Mayer, Central Arkansas
Caylan Koons, Central Arkansas
Trinity Freeman, Oral Roberts
Sakira LaCour, Oral Roberts
Manuela Ibarguen, Missouri State
Taylor Dorsey, Tennessee Tech