Volleyball Reverse Sweeps Owls, Moves to Second in CUSA

Saturday, October 17

Kennesaw, Ga.

1:00 p.m.

Missouri State University

15-5,6-2CUSA

Kennesaw State

9-11,3-5CUSA

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Missouri St.	21	20	25	25	15	3
Kennesaw St.	25	25	19	23	12	2

Game Notes Box Score (PDF)Postgame Interviews

Volleyball Reverse Sweeps Owls, Moves to Second in CUSA

October 17, 2026 | Volleyball

Box Score Postgame Interviews

By: MSU Athletics Communications

KENNESAW, Ga. – Missouri State rallied from a 2-0 deficit to earn a 3-2 (21-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-23, 15-12) victory at Kennesaw State on Saturday, improving to 15-5 overall and 6-2 in Conference USA, good for solo second place in the standings at the midway point of the league schedule.

Rilynn Finley had 19 kills, Hannah Gardner hit .533 with 16 kills and no errors, and Lexi Weinberg equaled her season high with 11 kills to help the Bears to their first reverse sweep in a true road match since Feb. 14, 2021 at UNI.

Mo State hit a blistering .371 over the final three sets to match their league win total from last season and tie their best 20-match start since 2017.

It was Kennesaw State (9-11, 3-5) on the offensive for the first two periods, piling on 17 kills in each on .347 hitting to gain the 2-0 advantage.

The Bears began the comeback by hitting .400 and serving four aces in the third set, and rallied from a 19-15 deficit to take the fourth. A 5-0 run put MSU ahead 20-19, Finley kills gave the Bears leads of 22-20 and 23-21, and Gardner and Judd combined for the winning block.

A 3-0 run capped by a Finley kill made it 10-8 Bears in the fifth, the teams sided out until a Gardner kill for 14-11, and it was Gardner again two points later to complete the comeback.

The Owls held slight edges in hitting percentage (.321-.320), digs (53-52) and blocks (9-8), and owned a 73-61 margin in kills, with the Bears taking advantage of six fewer attack errors along with 16 service errors by the Owls.

Brooke Eslinger paced the Bears with 17 digs, Weinberg and Hannah Redrow had five blocks apiece, and freshmen Halle Rillie and Avery Sands each served two aces.

Mo State stays on the road for an Oct .23-24 series at Delaware.

#GoBears