MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Freshmen accounted for 31 of Missouri State's 40 kills Saturday afternoon in leading the Bears to a 25-17, 25-15, 25-16 sweep at Middle Tennessee to earn the eighth and final spot in next week's Conference USA Tournament in Miami.
 
MoState closes the regular season at 11-16 and 6-10 in league play for the No. 8 seed in the postseason meet, with match time and opponent for the Nov. 21 quarterfinal to be determined at the conclusion of the league's Saturday schedule.
 
The Bears hit a season-high .386, with the freshman class of Peyton McKee (9 kills), Hannah Gardner (8), Jenna Walters (8) and Chloe Judd (6) pacing the offense. Judd led the team with five blocks and Gardner served three aces.
 
Missouri State jumped out to a 12-3 lead to begin the match, using three aces and five McKee kills to aid in winning the opening set.
 
After the Blue Raiders (11-17, 3-13) used a 6-0 run to lead 8-4 in the second, the Bears closed on a 21-7 run, hitting .407 and tallying five team blocks.
 
Gardner had a kill and two aces in a 5-0 run to a 16-10 advantage in the third and MoState pulled away from there for the sweep by hitting .500 without an error in the final period.
 
The Bears held MTSU to a .086 attack efficiency and led 40-32 in kills, 7-4 in aces and 9-4 in blocks.
 
Brooke Eslinger led MSU with 14 digs, and senior Lizanyela Lopez added four blocks to move her season total to 122, good for fourth in Missouri State history in the 25-point scoring era (since 2008).