ABILENE, Texas – Missouri State took the first set from Incarnate Word Saturday afternoon before the Cardinals rallied to claim the next three for a 3-1 win over the Bears at the Wildcat Invitational inside Moody Coliseum.
 
Rilynn Finley recorded her first career double-double with 12 kills and a career-high 14 digs, while Lexi Weinberg and Jenna Walters tallied 11 kills each for the Bears in the 25-21, 19-25, 18-25, 24-26 setback.
 
Finley provided four kills and an ace during a 6-1 run to a 14-8 MSU lead in the opening set, UIW (2-1) tied the score twice, and the Bears countered with a closing 4-0 run, winning it when Weinberg and Hannah Gardner combined for a block.
 
The Bears (0-3) jumped ahead 14-10 in the second period only to see UIW respond with a 15-5 scoring run to even the match.
 
Incarnate Word never surrendered the lead in the third after scoring five straight to lead 13-8 and jumped ahead 19-12 in the fourth before a furious rally by the Bears. MoState closed to 19-18 with a 6-0 run and pulled even at 24-all only to see the Cardinals get a kill and a block for the match victory.
 
Gardner had 25 assists and 15 digs for the double-double, Aniya Joseph led the Bears with 16 digs, and MSU served 10 aces as a team.
 
UIW led 60-49 in kills, .226-.146 in hitting percentage and 82-78 in total digs.
 
The Bears will play their next five matches at home, beginning with the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational Sept. 4-6 at Hammons Student Center. MoState opens the event with Lindenwood at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, then plays UTSA at 7 p.m. Friday and DePaul at 3 p.m. Saturday.