JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Missouri State won the first two sets and got a season-high 13 kills and four aces from Lexi Weinberg but couldn't hold off a late-surging Jacksonville State squad here Friday, falling 29-27, 25-18, 19-25, 13-25, 7-15 in a Conference USA five-setter.
 
The Bears (5-11, 0-5 CUSA) also got 12 kills from Rilynn Finley, her seventh double-figure effort of the season, while Brooke Eslinger tallied a team-high 16 digs, and Lizanyela Lopez registered 7 blocks.
 
The Gamecocks (9-8, 3-2 CUSA) notched 76 kills on the night, the most by a Bears opponent this season, including 27 from Kayla Williams. The home side also stepped up its defense after falling behind 2-0, allowing MSU just 15 total kills over the final three sets.
 
In the early going, Missouri State overcame a six-point deficit to take the opening set, 29-27. With Jax State holding a 24-19 lead and serving for the set, the Bears used a 5-0 run to knot the score at 24-24. Lopez helped lead the charge, blasting two critical kills to force ties at 24 and 25 before a tandem block by Grace Smith and Finley gave the visitors their first lead of the night, 27-26. Three points later, Peyton McKee finished things off with her only kill of the opening set.  Weinberg, Lopez and Finley combined for 16 kills in the opener.
 
The second set was all Missouri State as the visitors used an 11-1 run to flip a 9-9 tie into a 20-10 lead. The Bears hit .312 and parlayed 12 kills and four aces into a 25-18 victory to take a 2-0 lead.
 
Jax State stormed back to win the third set, 25-19. The home side never trailed and collected 17 kills in the game, while fighting off five potential game-tying points midway through the set. After MSU pulled within 17-16, Amaya Tolentino's kill gave Jacksonville State a two-point cushion and helped ignite an 8-3 run to end the set. The Bears were held to just seven kills in game 3.
 
Set four was much of the same with the Bears tallying just seven kills, while Jacksonville State hit .458 en route to a 25-13 win to tie the match up, 2-2. The Bears led 2-1 early on and later capitalized on a JSU service error to stay within 7-6. But, the Gamecocks used a 9-1 run to gain separation and pushed ahead 23-9 before closing out the set.
 
Missouri State opened the fifth set with three straight blocks to grab an early 3-2 lead. However, the Gamecocks quickly embarked on a 6-0 run to gain an 8-3 advantage. From there, JSU launched three service aces and five kills by Tolentino to close out the decisive set, 15-7.
 
The two squads will square off again on Saturday at 1 p.m. to close out the two-match series. Missouri State then embarks on a four-match home stand with CUSA matches against New Mexico State (Oct. 17-18) and LA Tech (Oct. 24-25) at Hammons Student Center.