Missouri State (8-3) earned another resume-building victory Tuesday evening, topping Sun Belt West Division favorite Arkansas State (6-5) in four sets (25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 25-20) at the Convocation Center.
The volleyball Bears overcame 13 attack errors in the first set for a two-point win, thanks in large part to a defense that scooped 18 digs and limited the Red Wolves to a negative hitting percentage. Missouri State led by four points on three separate occasions, but a pair of 3-0 runs by the home team left the Bears trailing 23-22. Lily Johnson and Simone House countered with kills for a 24-23 lead before ASU missed an attack to hand MSU the win.
The second set was tied nine times to an 11-11 score, and the seventh and final lead change took place during a 4-0 Arkansas State run that resulted in a 15-12 advantage for the Red Wolves. ASU pulled away from there, finishing the set with 22 kills and a .356 hitting percentage.
Missouri State closed well again in the third set, overcoming a 19-16 deficit for the win. Tatum Marshall's ace capped a 4-0 run and put the Bears ahead 20-19, and a Lynsey Wright kill followed by an ace from Brianne Dixon made it 23-21. ASU scored the next point before committing two errors to help MSU to the 25-22 win.
The fourth period remained tight until Johnson had three kills and House added another during a 6-2 run that helped the Bears open the gap to a 19-14 margin. Another House kill made it 22-17, and the Red Wolves threatened with a 3-0 run before MSU countered by scoring the final three points as Johnson and Wright combined for the winning block.
Johnson led all players with 19 kills, moving past Mary Beck for the seventh spot on MSU's career list, while Ashley Ophoven and House finished with 10 apiece. House added a season-high six blocks and hit .421 as the Bears posted a .232 attack efficiency compared to .181 for the Red Wolves.
Emily Butters had 16 digs and Marshall had 12 to help MSU to a 50-48 lead in that category. The Bears also owned a 9-6 advantage in blocking despite being stuffed five times in the first set.
The Bears return to action Friday at 4 p.m. when they take on Milwaukee (6-3) in the first match of the Marquette Invitational.
