SPRINGFIELD - Missouri State beach volleyball (22-5) extended its winning streak to seven matches and maintained its perfect home record in a 5-0 sweep of Park University (Mo.) on a windy Tuesday afternoon. It was the team's 13th sweep this season.

"We were excited to be able to pick up another midweek match this week to help us prepare for conference next week," head coach Ashley Emery said. "The team came out and took charge from the beginning."

The Bears got the best of the Pirates at each flight, only dropping one set in the match. Missouri State completed the season sweep of Park, sweeping the Pirates on two occasions.

Brooke Plessner and Maddie Schrandt got the ball rolling at flight No. 5 against Irene Verdino and Patricia Carrio Ubeda. Verdino played at No. 5 against the Bears back in March while Ubeda made her first appearance in the season series. Missouri State took an early lead thanks to an 8-0 run to take an 11-4 lead in the first set. Plessner ended the first set with a service ace. The second set started with each team trading points until MSU got on a 5-0 run to break an 8-8 tie. The Bears pulled away from there to win, 21-10, 21-13.

For the first time this season, Missouri State made a change at flight No. 3. Kenzi McSpadden made her first start since facing UTEP on March 22. She and Olivia Muriel never trailed against Carla Sales Pons and Izabella Ceratti, the same No. 3 pair that faced the Bears in March. Muriel and McSpadden led early in each set, including a 7-0 run to start the second set. Park had a 4-0 run in the middle of each set but it wasn't enough as the Bears won, 21-15, 21-10, with back-to-back aces from Muriel securing the victory.

Missouri State clinched the team victory on flight No. 4 as Allyson Larkin and Olivia Rattler made quick work against the familiar pairing of Luna Martins and Mafalda Bras. The Bears took the win, 21-12, 21-18, in what marked Larkin's 21st win of the season.

Flight No. 1 got off to a similar start for Becca Bach and Manuela Niemeyer, the latter making her first start at home this season. The Bears opened with a 6-1 lead in the first set against Jullia Alvarez and Serena Arruda and continued to pull away. A handful of solid runs put the Pirates away in the first set. Bach and Niemeyer used a couple of 4-0 runs to end the match, 21-8, 21-11.

MacKenzie Steele and Amanda Cleary battled from behind at flight No. 2 in a rematch from March against Grecia Ung and Arianna Marino. After getting swept in March in two tight sets, Ung and Marino won the first set to give Park its only set of the day with two straight points to break a 19-19 tie. The Bears found a groove late in the second set, turning a 12-10 lead into a 20-11 lead in a matter of moments. The Pirates mustered a 3-0 run trying to extend the set, but the Bears prevailed. The third set was all Missouri State as Steele and Cleary went on a 5-0 run to lead 6-1 in the early going. Another 4-0 run after that put it out of reach as MSU took the win, 19-21, 21-14, 15-5, to secure the match sweep. The win was Steele's 30th of her career, moving her to sixth on the all-time Missouri State wins list.

"A slow start from our No. 2s today against a strong Park team turned into one of the strongest finishes I've seen from them in a while," Emery said. "I know they can continue to dominate at that level. We look forward to finishing out strong Thursday and hope to see our fans one last time before we hit the road to conference."

Missouri State will conclude its regular season on Thursday with a doubleheader at Betty & Bobby Allison Sand Courts against McKendree at 10 a.m. and Oklahoma Wesleyan at 3 p.m.

Results

Missouri State 5 - Park University (Mo.) 0

Flight 1: Becca Bach/Manuela Niemeyer (MSU) def. Jullia Alvarez/Serena Arruda (PARK): 21-8, 21-11

Flight 2: MacKenzie Steele/Amanda Cleary (MSU) def. Grecia Ung/Arianna Marino (PARK): 19-21, 21-14, 15-5

Flight 3: Olivia Muriel/Kenzi McSpadden (MSU) def. Carla Pons Sales/Izabella Ceratti (PARK): 21-15, 21-10

Flight 4: Allyson Larkin/Olivia Rattler (MSU) def. Luna Martins/Mafalda Bras (PARK): 21-12, 21-18

Flight 5: Brooke Plessner/Maddie Schrandt (MSU) def. Irene Verdino/Patricia Carrio Ubeda (PARK): 21-10, 21-13

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