TUCSON, Ariz. - The Missouri State beach volleyball team (15-4) suffered its first two-loss day of the season on the opening day of the Arizona Invitational in Tucson on Friday. The Bears lost both their matches against Utah and UTEP by a score of 4-1 in some of Missouri State's toughest matches so far this season.

"We knew coming into this weekend we would be tested in a way that we haven't yet this season," head coach Ashley Emery said.

Missouri State will return to Bear Down Beach on Saturday for two more matches against host team No. 19 Arizona at noon and against NAIA Arizona Christian at 2:00 p.m. CT.

Utah 4 - Missouri State 1

The Bears suffered their third loss of the season to open the Arizona Invitational in its first-ever match against the Utah Utes, 4-1.

On flight No. 1, Utah's Langley Griffin and Katie McAlister pulled away against MSU's Becca Bach and Manuela Niemeyer in both sets to come away with a 21-9, 21-14 victory. The Bears looked to maintain pace in the second set with the score tied at five, but the Utes forced their way to the sweep.

Next to finish was flight No. 4 which had a similar outcome. Kenzi McSpadden returned to the lineup for the first time since the Battle on the Bay Tournament in Florida two weeks ago and reunited with Allyson Larkin. The pair was right in the trails of Utah's Kylie Pitzak and Marissa Koch in the early goings of both sets, but Utah gained steam in the middle and late parts to go on a strong run to end the match, 21-14, 21-12.

MacKenzie Steele and Amanda Cleary had strong starts in each set against Utah's Bella Vezzani and Rylee Johnson. The Bears opened the second set with a 14-7 lead before the Utes looked to clean up the match with a 9-1 run to retake control. Vezzani and Johnson clinched the match for Utah with a 21-15, 21-19 win.

Missouri State saw its one win on flight No. 3 thanks to Olivia Muriel and Erin Eschleman. The duo that started the season with 10 straight wins arguably picked up its biggest one against Lauren Sayre and Chloe Narancich in comeback fashion. After dropping the first set, Muriel and Eschleman rallied after starting the second set down 5-1 to turn that into a 12-8 lead. The Bears commanded the pace from there and took the win, 14-21, 21-12, 15-8.

Flight No. 5 also went to a third set between Missouri State's Brooke Plessner and Maddie Schrandt against Utah's Milan Ray and Sonja Wessel. Plessner and Schrandt went on a 7-0 run in the first set to secure the lead, but Utah's pairing struck back to force a tiebreaking set. Tied 10-10, the Utes popped off five straight points to take the win, 16-21, 21-15, 15-10. The loss snaps Missouri State's 15-match winning streak on flight No. 5, the longest streak on a single court in Bears history.

"Today was hard on us mentally," Emery said. "We have to do a better job of resetting and refocusing our energy. We didn't battle at the caliber we have shown we know how to."

UTEP 4 - Missouri State 1

In its first-ever match against a fellow Conference USA opponent, Missouri State met the same fate as it did in its early match. The UTEP Miners jumped ahead with quick wins and ultimately won this rematch from last year's Arizona Tournament, 4-1.

Steele and Cleary battled toe-to-toe in the early going against UTEP's Madison Hill and Summer McDonough, but the Miners shifted gears and put the Bears away in straight sets, 21-12, 21-14, to hand Missouri State its second sweep of the day on flight No. 2. 

The match on flight No. 4 proved UTEP could win in different ways as Mila Popovic and Ema Uskokovic took down Larkin and McSpadden in straight sets. The first set saw multiple ties with it being knotted up at 18 at one point. The Miners dug in and won an extended first set before never trailing in the second set to win, 23-21, 21-14.

Missouri State kept itself in the fight on flight No. 5. Plessner and Schrandt once again had one of the most dominant wins across the field in the match with its 21-12, 21-6 victory over Adriana Oporto and Alexis Massey. The Bears opened the first set on a 7-4 run and the second set on a 12-3 run. The win marked Plessner's 37th of her career, putting her one win away from Chloe Tome (38) for second in MSU history and two away from Grace Cook (39) for the all-time lead.

UTEP clinched the overall match win thanks to the efforts of Krista Paegle and Paulina Acuna flight No. 1. The two owned the sand against Bach and Niemeyer by taking an 11-6 lead in the first set and a 6-1 lead in the second set. Paegle repeated her win against the Bears on No. 1 last year with a win alongside Acuna this year, 21-13, 21-14. 

On flight No. 3, the Miners ended the day with a comeback victory against Muriel and Eschleman. The Bears looked poised for a win with an 11-3 lead in the first set, but UTEP built up energy as the match got deeper. Missouri State had a chance to win the flight trailing by a point late in the second set, but UTEP found a passage to a third set. It was all Miners in the deciding set with the pairing of Katie Martin and Marian Ovalle sealing the deal with a final score of 12-21, 20-22, 10-15, in the only three-set battle of the match.

"Tomorrow is a new day," Emery said. "Hopefully we will get the rest and recovery we need this evening to show up like ourselves tomorrow."

Results

Missouri State 1 - Utah 4

Flight 1: Langley Griffin/Katie McAlister (Utah) def. Becca Bach/Manuela Niemeyer (MSU): 21-9, 21-14

Flight 2: Bella Vezzani/Rylee Johnson (Utah) def. MacKenzie Steele/Amanda Cleary (MSU): 21-15, 21-19

Flight 3: Olivia Muriel/Erin Eschleman (MSU) def. Lauren Sayre/Chloe Narancich (Utah): 14-21, 21-12, 15-8

Flight 4: Kylie Pitzak/Marissa Koch (Utah) def. Kenzi McSpadden/Allyson Larkin (MSU): 21-14, 21-12

Flight 5: Milan Ray/Sonja Wessel (Utah) def. Brooke Plessner/Maddie Schrandt (MSU): 16-21, 21-15, 15-10

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


Missouri State 1 - UTEP 4

Flight 1: Krista Paegle/Paulina Acuna (UTEP) def. Becca Bach/Manuela Niemeyer (MSU): 21-13, 21-14

Flight 2: Madison Hill/Summer McDonough (UTEP) def. MacKenzie Steele/Amanda Cleary (MSU): 21-12, 21-14

Flight 3: Katie Martin/Marian Ovalle (UTEP) def. Olivia Muriel/Erin Eschleman (MSU): 12-21, 22-20, 15-10

Flight 4: Mila Popovic/Ema Uskokovic (UTEP) def. Allyson Larkin/Kenzi McSpadden (MSU): 23-21, 21-14

Flight 5: Brooke Plessner/Maddie Schrandt (MSU) def. Adriana Oporto/Alexis Massey (UTEP): 21-12, 21-6

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