OZARK, Mo - The Missouri State beach volleyball team (9-0) continued its perfect season by sweeping every match to win Mo State Tournament 2 with a 4-0 record. The Bears swept Park University Saturday morning followed by another sweep in a rematch against Lindenwood Saturday afternoon.

"I'm proud of the effort we gave from the start today," head coach Ashley Emery said. "The girls walked into our courts with confidence which led to two more great 5-0 wins to finish off the weekend."

Missouri State will begin a stretch of three straight road tournaments over the next three weekends. The Bears will first head to St. Petersburg, Fla. for the Battle of the Bay Tournament hosted by Eckerd College starting on Friday, March 8. MSU is a combined 3-5 over the last two seasons in the tournament.

Missouri State 5 - Park University 0

Just like in the first match on Friday against Southwest Baptist, Missouri State earned a straight-set sweep on all five flights to begin the day against the Park Pirates.

MacKenzie Steele and Amanda Cleary had the endurance to take down the Pirate pair of Grecia Ung and Arianna Marino. The Bears went on a late run to win the first set to break a 14-14 tie. The second set was just as tight with the Bears maintaining a 16-15 lead to come away with the victory, 21-18, 21-17.

Flight No. 4 saw two different styles where the Bears came out on top in both of them. Kenzi McSpadden and Allyson Larkin added to their already perfect record as a pair, improving to 8-0 themselves. The two ran away with the first set against Luna Martins and Mafalda Bras by starting with a 9-3 scoring run. Missouri State trailed in the early parts of the second set, but McSpadden and Larkin went on a 7-2 run to retake the lead and the win, 21-8, 21-18. 

Brooke Plessner and Maddie Schrandt clinched the win on flight No. 5 by getting an early jump on Arma Kovac and Irene Verdino. The Bears opened their match with a 6-1 run and pulled away to a double-digit lead by the end of the first set. Plessner and Schrandt kept the Pirates at arm's length in the second set, but one last leap propelled them on a 3-0 run to take a 19-14 set lead and win the match soon after, 21-10, 21-15.

Flight No. 3 once again saw the pair of Olivia Muriel and Erin Eschleman grace its sands. The two extended their record winning streak on No. 3 to eight with a 21-14, 21-8 victory over Carla Pons Sales and Izabella Cerratti. The two were more dominant as the match went on, jumping to a 10-2 lead in the second set and leaving no doubt in the result.

Becca Bach and Niemeyer secured the perfect sweep for the Bears on flight No. 1 moments after No. 3 concluded. The lead duo went on a quick 5-1 run to break a 5-5 tie in the first set. A few modest 3-0 runs bookended the second set with a Niemeyer ace sealing the deal for the Bears.

"It's hard to shout out one or two pairs on a day like today," Emery said. "It was a team effort that made it look the way it did. We had some hard fought throughout, but when it came time to push the finish, we executed."

Missouri State 5 - Lindenwood 0

Missouri State backed up its sweep against Lindenwood in last week's tournament by replicating that effort in a 5-0 sweep to end the weekend. Each team brought the same lineups as last week's matchup, making it a rematch on all fronts.

Steele and Cleary had a very similar result in their second bout against Nyah Wilson and Taylor Gentemann. The Bears led all the way the entire first set and went on a 6-0 run to erase an early deficit in the second set to win, 21-14, 21-11. Steele and Cleary allowed three fewer points against Wilson and Gentemann this week, sweeping both matches.

On flight No. 4, McSpadden and Larkin dropped the first set against Jesse Seidel and Kailee McGee despite a last-ditch 5-0 run but clawed back with a 12-1 run in the second set that swung the pendulum their way. The Bears operated from behind in each set, going down 11-7 in the deciding third set. McSpadden and Larkin battled to take a 14-13 lead before winning, 17-21, 21-11, 16-14. 

Their nine consecutive wins on No. 4 is the most by a Bears pair on that flight. Steele and Niemeyer went 8-0 across both Mo State Tournaments last season.

Bach and Niemeyer got the early jump on flight No. 1 against Maider Soto and Katie Malzahn. Each set was a battle for MSU against that Lions duo last week, but this week's matchup went much smoother for the Bears. Bach and Niemeyer allowed 17 fewer points against Soto and Malzahn this week, winning 21-8, 21-13.

On flight No. 5, Plessner and Schrandt parlayed a 10-10 tie in the first set into an 11-3 run. The duo jumped to a 9-2 run to start the second set and did not let up. The Bears beat Lindenwood's Amber Schade and Elise Llorens, 21-13, 21-12 with a Schrandt ace to end it. Missouri State allowed the same number of points as they did against them in last week's sweep.

The other record-breaking pair of Olivia Muriel and Erin Eschleman secured the perfect tournament for Missouri State while also securing their own 9-0 record together. The two seemed poised to run away with it against Abby Jacobs and Annalie McWhorter after a fiery 21-8 first set, but the second set sent them on a rollercoaster. The Bears broke a 16-16 tie in the second set with a 3-0 run, but the Lions responded with a 4-0 run right after. Following multiple set and match points for each team, the Bears finally got to celebrate when the second set ended with a 30-28 result.

"We've got another big weekend ahead of us," Emery said. "The girls are excited to head to Florida and redeem themselves. I'm looking forward to seeing the confidence roll into next week."

Results

Missouri State 5 - Park University 0

Flight 1: Becca Bach/Manuela Niemeyer (MSU) def. Szonja Stollar/Jullia Alvarez (PARK): 21-13, 21-18

Flight 2: MacKenzie Steele/Amanda Cleary (MSU) def. Grecia Ung/Arianna Marino (PARK): 21-18, 21-17

Flight 3: Olivia Muriel/Erin Eschleman (MSU) def. Carla Pons Sales/Izabella Ceratti (PARK): 21-14, 21-8

Flight 4: Kenzi McSpadden/Allyson Larkin (MSU) def. Luna Martins/Mafalda Bras (PARK): 21-8, 21-18

Flight 5: Brooke Plessner/Maddie Schrandt (MSU) def. Arma Kovac/Irene Verdino (PARK): 21-10, 21-15

Order of Finish: 2, 4, 5, 3, 1

Missouri State 5 - Lindenwood 0

Flight 1: Becca Bach/Manuela Niemeyer (MSU) def. Maider Soto/Katie Malzahn (LIN): 21-8, 21-13

Flight 2: MacKenzie Steele/Amanda Cleary (MSU) def. Nyah Wilson/Taylor Gentemann (LIN): 21-14, 21-11

Flight 3: Olivia Muriel/Erin Eschleman (MSU) def. Abby Jacobs/Annalie McWhorter (LIN): 21-8, 30-28

Flight 4: Kenzi McSpadden/Allyson Larkin (MSU) def. Jessie Seidel/Kailee McGee (LIN): 17-21, 21-11, 16-14

Flight 5: Brooke Plessner/Maddie Schrandt (MSU) def. Amber Schade/Elise Llorens (LIN): 21-13, 21-12

Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1, 5, 3