SPRINGFIELD – Freshmen outside hitters Rilynn Finley (17) and Aniya Joseph (14) combined for 31 kills but visiting Murray State took the final two sets to hand Missouri State a 3-1 (25-21, 14-25, 25-17, 25-23) loss Friday evening at Hammons Student Center.
 
The Racers (11-8, 6-4 Missouri Valley Conference) took a toss-up opening set by closing on a 5-1 run from a 20-20 score thanks to four late kills and 18 in the opening period
 
The Bears (8-14, 2-8) rallied with a dominant second period, hitting .343 and blasting 15 kills, including five without an error from Joseph to pull even at intermission.
 
Murray State jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third and never looked back, piling up 17 more kills and serving a pair of aces to regain control.
 
Then in the fourth, the Racers went up 10-3 before a furious rally by the Bears. MoState took a 14-13 lead on a block by Finley and Maddy Bushnell, Murray State countered with a 3-0 run to retake the lead for good. The Bears served for the tie three times at 22-21, 23-22 and 24-23 but could never pull even and force a fifth set.
 
The Racers hit .211 with 61 kills while MoState hit .195 with 54 winners. Kate Owen led MSU with 20 digs, while both teams finished the match with 77. Neele'ge' Sims was in on four of MSU's eight blocks, though the Bears served just one ace against a solid Racer defense.
 
The Bears host Belmont (8-14, 3-7) at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Bruins won 3-1 at Southern Illinois on Friday.