SPRINGFIELD — Missouri State senior Lily Johnson became the school’s all-time leader in career kills, and the Bears bounced back from a tough five-set loss to Illinois in the afternoon match to complete a sweep of Tennessee State in the finale of the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational at Hammons Student Center.
Johnson broke Michelle Witzke’s mark with her 1,920th career kill midway through the third set against Illinois, finishing with 27 in the match and adding 16 more against TSU to finish the night with 1,945, three shy of the Missouri Valley Conference record held by former Bradley star Lindsay Stalzer. Johnson’s 39th career match with at least 20 kills also set a new standard at MSU.
All-tournament selections included Washington State’s Taylor Mims (MVP), McKenna Woodford and Ashley Brown, Jordyn Poulter and Tyanna Omazic of Illinois, Johnson, and Chattanooga’s Ally Ford.
The Bears begin Missouri Valley Conference play on the road next week, facing Illinois State at 7 p.m. Friday and Bradley at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Illinois Recap (Illinois won 23-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-12)
The Bears were two points away from a sweep of the Illini, who ranked 29th in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, but let a 2-0 set lead slip away in the defeat.
In addition to Johnson’s 27 kills in her record-setting performance, Daniele Messa dished out 48 assists and scooped a career-high 25 digs, Emily Butters had 29 digs, and MacKenzie Irwin added a career-high six blocks.
Illinois ultimately outscored the Bears 109-106 in total points, and leading 68-66 in kills and 19.5-11 in blocking. MSU hit .188 versus .180 for the Illini and lifted a season-high 99 digs.
Missouri State led for the duration of the first set after Johnson hit three straight kills for a 12-8 lead, and both Illinois efforts to serve for the lead late were met with Lauren Boone kills, the last for a 22-21 advantage. MSU used a 5-0 run to lead 10-7 in the second set, and the Illini pulled within a point on four occasions but no closer, as Johnson and Ashley Ophoven had five kills apiece and Irwin had three blocks.
Despite Illinois jumping ahead 8-0 in the third, the Bears pulled even as early as 12-12 and led as late as 23-22 before the Fighting Illini closed on a 3-0 run. The visitors’ sixth block of the fourth set made it 15-8, and MSU got no closer than 23-20 as the teams ended the fourth period with 94 points each for the match.
The fifth set was tied at each point to 6-6 before Illinois took a 9-6 lead. The Bears tied the score three more times, but were unable to break through after a 12-12 deadlock as Illinois closed with a kill and two blocks.
Tennessee State Recap (MSU won 25-18, 25-10, 25-17)
The Bears hit a season-high .383 with 48 kills and seven errors in a sweep of the Tigers (4-9). Johnson hit .366 with a match-high 16 kills, Lynsey Wright added 11 on .333 hitting, and Aubrey Cheffey hit .818 with nine kills on 11 swings. Butters and Brianne Dixon shared high dig honors with 11 apiece, Laynie Dake had three blocks, and Messa served two aces to go with 31 assists.
Cheffey’s kill for a 3-2 score gave MSU the lead for good in the first set, and the Bears pulled away with a 4-0 run to 18-13 as Johnson and Wright combined for 11 kills in the frame. The Bears were nearly perfect in the second period, hitting .517 with 15 kills and no errors along with four blocks.
MSU never trailed in the third set, leading 12-5 on a block by Dake and Cheffey. The Tigers got as close as four points at 15-11 before MSU pulled away behind 16 more kills and a .325 attack efficiency.
