OZARK, Mo. – Missouri State beach volleyball turned in a strong showing at the AVCA Fall Championship Qualifier this weekend at Volleyball Beach Ozark, with both Bear pairs advancing to semifinal play before narrowly missing out on bids to the AVCA Beach National Championships.

The duo of Rylie Cepicky and Ally Larkin opened the tournament in dominant fashion, sweeping McKendree's Megan Diercks and Amber Williams, 2-0 (21-12, 21-10). Amanda Cleary and MacKenzie Steele matched the energy with a straight-set victory of their own, defeating Southwest Baptist's Melanie Cox and Addison Fanning, 2-0 (21-7, 21-17).

Both Missouri State pairs carried their momentum into the quarterfinals, where Cepicky and Larkin downed Lindenwood's Gabrielle Belcher and Katie Bockhorst, 2-0 (21-16, 21-9), while Cleary and Steele outlasted Lindenwood's Abby Jacobs and Annalie McWhorter in a tight 2-0 win (22-20, 21-16).

The Bears' impressive runs came to an end in the semifinal round, where both pairs battled to the wire in three-set matches. UT Martin's Reagan McGee and Riley Rushing edged out Cepicky and Larkin in a tightly contested three-set battle, 2-1 (21-15, 18-21, 15-12). The pair of Cleary and Steele dropped a hard-fought 2-1 (21-15, 18-21, 15-10) decision.

"The pairs battled through tough matches and came up just short of advancing today," said head coach Ashley Emery. "While it hurts in these moments, valuable lessons are learned and plenty to build moving forward!"

With those results, the Bears' two top pairs will now face each other Saturday in the third-place match, guaranteeing Missouri State a podium finish at the qualifier.