RALEIGH, N.C. — Missouri State came away with a split Saturday against a pair of challenging foes, losing in four sets to eighth-ranked Kansas in the morning before dispatching North Carolina State in five sets less than three hours later inside Reynolds Coliseum.
The Bears finished their first weekend of the season with a 2-1 record, with the NC State victory marking the 25th win over a Power Five school for Missouri State under head coach Melissa Stokes.
MSU’s Lily Johnson recorded the 97th and 98th matches of at least 10 kills in her career, setting the Missouri State and likely Missouri Valley Conference record, though that statistic is not available from all league schools. The senior also moved to third in MVC history in career kills with 35 on the day.
Missouri State continues its rugged early-season schedule with a trip to Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 1-2, for matches against 21th-ranked Ohio State, 2016 NCAA Tournament qualifier Lipscomb, and Oakland.
#8 Kansas Recap (KU won 25-23, 25-23, 21-25, 25-19)
Sophomore Aubrey Cheffey had a career-high 17 kills, and the Bears pushed the eighth-ranked Jayhawks to the limit in the 3-1 loss.
The first set was tied 10 times to an 11-11 score when the Jayhawks took the lead for good with a 4-0 run. The Bears fought off four match points to a 24-23 deficit before a KU got a block for the win. Emily Butters had 11 of her 26 digs in the set.
MSU trailed 12-7 in the second before Cheffey had two kills in a 5-0 run for a 12-all tie. The Bears tied the score five more times, including another Cheffey kill for 23-23, but never took the lead.
MacKenzie Irwin had a kill and two blocks in an 8-3 run to start the third set, and Johnson’s kill made it 13-7 Bears midway through the period. Ashley Ophoven’s consecutive kills made it 20-14 MSU, the Jayhawks closed to 20-18, and the Bears responded again, ending the set with 18 kills and three blocks.
The Bears did not trail in the fourth set until a 3-0 KU run made it 11-9. Johnson’s kill regained a 17-16 lead for the Bears, but the Jayhawks responded with a 5-0 run to lead 21-17, and finished off the match with their 19th block of the contest.
Johnson finished with 15 kills, 16 digs and two aces, and the Bears owned leads of 60-56 in kills and 86-80 in digs, but hit .153 compared to .226 for the Jayhawks.
North Carolina State Recap (MSU won 19-25, 25-21, 27-25, 15-25, 15-13)
NC State hit .389 in the first set and never trailed to take the early match lead, and the Bears responded with a 9-4 start to the second stanza. The Wolfpack gained a 13-11 lead before the Bears went on a 4-0 run and did not trail again. NC State tied the score twice, and the Bears led by multiple points for the remainder of the set after taking a 19-16 lead.
The third set was tied eight times to a 9-9 score when the Bears ran off four consecutive points to lead 13-9. The Wolfpack rattled off five straight points to pull even at 19-all, and Johnson’s kill made it 22-20. The home team grabbed a pair of set points when Wright scored back-to-back kills for a 26-25 MSU lead and Johnson followed with the winner.
The home team jumped ahead 11-4 in the fourth set and cruised to a double-digit win thanks to .394 hitting compared to .065 for the Bears, and appeared ready to do the same with a 6-3 start to the fifth period.
Johnson took over from there, scoring three kills in a 6-1 run to lead 9-7, and adding two more on the way to a 13-11 advantage and a total of 20 kills in the match. The Wolfpack fought off a pair of match points before Cheffey’s 13th kill sealed the win for Missouri State.
Butters scooped 26 digs for MSU and Irwin added a career-high seven kills. NC State held the edge in most statistical categories, and the Bears finished with totals of 65 kills on .195 hitting, 78 digs, four aces and six blocks.
