SPRINGFIELD – Hannah Gardner had her second triple-double of the season, Rilynn Finley slammed 19 kills, and Missouri State dominated the final three sets Saturday afternoon at Hammons Student Center for a 3-2 (23-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-21,15-5) Conference USA victory over New Mexico State.
 
With their third straight win, the Bears improved to 8-11 overall and 3-5 CUSA play, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to win for the first time overall since 2022 and first time at home since 2011.
 
Gardner's 15 kills and 28 assists were both season highs, while her 11 digs gave her a second triple-double in 2025 after she became the first freshman in school history to achieve the feat in September.
 
Finley tallied multiple kills in each set and freshman Peyton McKee added 14 in what was a big match for MSU's rookie class. Chloe Judd tallied eight of the Bears' 11 team blocks along with five kills on .500 hitting, while Karissa Chase collected all six of her error-free kills in the fourth period.
 
The match was tied a total of 40 times with 20 lead changes throughout, and New Mexico State (11-10, 4-4) narrowly escaped each of the first two sets with wins.
 
Gardner took over in the third by scoring or assisting on 11 Missouri State points, with Finley adding five kills of her own.
 
The fourth was a defensive battle with the Bears owning a 30-25 lead in total digs after each side registered 34 digs through the first three periods. Aniya Joseph, Brooke Eslinger and Rossana Papa each had six or more digs, with Eslinger's 21 in the match leading all players.
 
In the fifth, Judd was a part of all three MSU blocks as the Bears forced New Mexico State into nine attack errors for the runaway win.
 
Missouri State led the statistical categories across the board in the two-hour, 39-minute contest, with margins of .289-180 in hitting percentage, 66-62 in kills, 76-67 in digs, 11-8 in blocks and 6-3 in aces.
 
The Bears remain at home next weekend for matches against Louisiana Tech on Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. and Oct. 25 at 1 p.m.