SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State kicked off the home portion of the 2023 volleyball season Thursday evening with a five-set defeat at the hands of Kansas City in the opening match of the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational.

Deja Bickers had a career-high 21 kills to go with 14 digs for her second career double-double, Maddy Bushnell and Azyah Green had 10 kills each, and Teagan Polcovich collected 26 digs. The Bears (2-2) went five sets for the fifth time in the last nine home contests, with the Roos (4-0) winning by set scores of 22-25, 18-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-10.

The opening set was tied 14 times with three lead changes, and a Green kill for a 19-18 advantage put MoState ahead for good.

After that, the contest was tied just five times with two total lead changes in the final four sets, with offense generally ruling the day for the set winner.

Missouri State hit .333 in the second period, Kansas City posted a .351 figure in the third and .480 in the fifth, while the fourth stanza saw both teams struggle offensively after the Roos jumped ahead 8-2 and never surrendered. The Bears never held a lead after 4-3 in the third.

KC hit .238 against an MSU defense that entered the match ranked sixth nationally with a .066 opponent hitting percentage. The Roos led 68-64 in kills and 12-5 in blocks, while the Bears owned a 90-85 edge in digs and 5-3 lead in service aces.

The Bears are back in action Friday at 6 p.m. against defending Ohio Valley Conference regular season champion UT Martin (1-2).