Missouri State suffered its first loss in two months Saturday in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title match, falling to Wichita State by set scores of 29-31, 19-25, 28-26 and 23-25 inside UNI’s McLeod Center.
The Bears’ (26-8) 17-match winning streak came to an end in a contest that included 57 ties, 26 lead changes, and three sets that were decided by two points, two of which needed more than 25 points to win.
The MVC regular season champions had several chances to win the first set, beginning with a stretch of five consecutive kills to lead 22-18. The second-seeded Shockers (24-7) countered with a 5-0 run, and Simone House fired kills to tie the score at 23 and 24. From there, the Bears had five separate set point opportunities, but were unable to capitalize as Wichita State closed on a 3-0 run for the narrow win.
Wichita State used a 4-0 run from an 18-18 tie to put away the second set, and the resilient Bears battled back to win the third, fending off three Shocker match points before Lily Johnson hit back-to-back kills for a 27-26 lead and Lynsey Wright followed with another for the win.
The fourth set was tied at each point to 12-12, and Wright’s kill made it 14-12 Bears before WSU’s only service error of the match put MSU up 15-13. The Shockers countered with an 8-1 run to lead 21-16, and gained match point at 24-21. The Bears spoiled WSU’s first two chances before being called for a net violation on the final play.
Johnson led all players with 23 kills, and Wright (15), Cambree Villarreal (14) and House (10) also reached double figures in MSU’s first match of the year with four players reaching at least 10 kills. Johnson also moved into eighth place on the MVC’s career kills list.
Daniele Messa equaled a career high with 54 assists, Emily Butters led five Bears in double figures with 19 digs, and House recorded her 400th career block.
The Bears will find out their postseason fate at 8 p.m. Sunday when the NCAA Selection Show airs on ESPNU. MSU owns five top-50 RPI victories this season and 15 wins away from home while claiming the MVC regular season title.
