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TUCSON, Ariz. – The Missouri State beach volleyball team (16-5) ended its stay at the Arizona Invitational by splitting its final two matches against a pair of in-state teams on Saturday. The Bears were swept, 5-0, by No. 19-ranked Arizona before bouncing back to defeat Arizona Christian, 4-1.
“We had a better energy as a team today,” head coach Ashley Emery said. “Our goal was to give Arizona a fight and take care of Arizona Christian. I think we finished the day just as we wanted.”
Missouri State will have its first weekend off of the season next week after going 7-5 across its last three road tournaments. The Bears return home on Saturday, April 6 with two matches against Ottawa (Kan.) and Southwest Baptist at Betty & Bobby Allison Sand Volleyball Courts.
“I’m looking forward to our team getting the rest they need,” Emery said. “Celebrating our seniors is up next on our agenda. We hope to see everyone there to show them love on April 6.
No. 19 Arizona 5 – Missouri State 0
The Bears suffered their first sweep of the season at the hands of the Wildcats, who won in straight sets on four of the five flights.
Arizona secured its first win at No. 2 where Kylee Fitzsimmons and former Missouri State Bear Grace Cook took early leads in both sets against MacKenzie Steele and Amanda Cleary. The Bears made a run in the middle of the second set to tie it at eight apiece, but Fitzsimmons and Cook pulled away to be the first pair to win, 21-15, 21-14.
Plessner and Maddie Schrandt made a similar run at flight No. 5 also being tied 8-8 in the second set. However, it was not enough to defeat Ashlyn Zilliken and Amanda Erro who won with similar results in each set, 21-14, 21-13.
“We knew coming into this weekend that we were going to have to battle,” MSU senior Brooke Plessner said. “As a team, we experienced some ups and downs after Day 1, but it pushed us to come back more focused and with the confidence we have had all season for Day 2.”
The Bears battled on both sets at flight No. 1 against the Wildcat duo of Abby Russell and Olivia McElroy. Becca Bach and Manuela Niemeyer were within a few points well into each set, but Arizona secured its third win of the tournament and 13th of the season with its No. 1 sweep, 21-16, 21-14.
At flight No. 3, Olivia Muriel and Erin Eschleman found a 12-9 lead in the first set against Annie Kost and Hope Shannon. The back-and-forth battle saw numerous ties in the first set until Arizona nabbed two late points to take the lead. The Wildcats kept the momentum going in the second set to win, 21-19, 21-14.
Missouri State won one set in the match at flight No. 4. After dropping the first set, Allyson Larkin and Arizona native Olivia Rattler maintained pace against Jess Horwath and Kate Phillips in the second set. The Bears and Wildcats were tied at 11 and 14 before MSU pulled in front to send the match into a third set. It was all Arizona in the final set as the host team clinched the team sweep, 21-14, 18-21, 15-11.
Missouri State 4 – Arizona Christian 1
In its third 4-1 decision of the tournament, Missouri State ended the Arizona Invitational with a victory over the Arizona Christian Firestorm to increase its program-record win total for a season to 16.
Just like against Arizona earlier in the day, flight No. 2 was the first to finish with Steele and Cleary bouncing back in style against ACU’s twin pairing of Riley and Haley Brown. The Bears dropped the first point in each set but used a 7-1 run in the first set and another 7-1 run to end the match to win, 21-9, 21-13.
Larkin and Rattler also kept the energy up after going three sets against a nationally ranked Arizona squad by achieving a sweep in two very different sets against Sydney Shaw and Brianna Boeckman. Down 12-16 in the first set, the Bears came back to tie it at 19 and needed an extra point to win the set by two. The second set was one of the team’s best all season. Larkin and Rattler started on a 7-0 run and led 17-3 at one point. The two won the match at flight No. 4 by a score of 22-20, 21-4.
Missouri State clinched the team win at flight No. 5 with Plessner and Schrandt defeating ACU’s Amaya Brown and Emily Katzer with identical 21-19, 21-19 set victories. Arizona Christian went on a 4-0 run when Plessner and Schrandt were at match point, but the Bears managed to put out the Firestorm.
The win was Plessner’s 38th of her career, tying her with Chloe Tome for second all-time in MSU history. She is now just one win from tying Grace Cook for the all-time lead.
At flight No. 3, Muriel and Eschleman went to three sets against Eliana Cho and Railey Dykstra. The Bears owned control of the first set, but the second set saw several ties including 12-12 at one point before the Firestorm erupted late. Muriel and Eschleman broke a 7-7 third-set tie with a 3-0 run to pull away with the win, 21-13, 17-21, 15-10.
Arizona Christian earned its first-ever flight win against MSU at No. 1 with Misty McCall and Mia Scheepens ending the day with a three-set win over Bach and Niemeyer. The Firestorm led the whole way in the first set, but that was flipped when the Bears started the second set up 6-1 and never turned back. A 5-1 run after being down 10-8 was what it took for McCall and Scheepens to win the flight, 21-16, 12-21, 15-13.
“We knew Arizona was going to be tough and that we would have to come out strong,” Plessner said. “But we kept the same mentality for Arizona Christian, giving us the win.”
Results
No. 19 Arizona 5 – Missouri State 0
Flight 1: Abby Russell/Olivia McElroy (UA) def. Becca Bach/Manuela Niemeyer (MSU): 21-16, 21-14
Flight 2: Kylee Fitzsimmons/Grace Cook (UA) def. MacKenzie Steele/Amanda Cleary (MSU): 21-15, 21-14
Flight 3: Annie Kost/Hope Shannon (UA) def. Olivia Muriel/Erin Eschleman (MSU): 21-19, 21-14
Flight 4: Jess Horwath/Kate Phillips (UA) def. Olivia Rattler/Allyson Larkin (MSU): 21-14, 18-21, 15-11
Flight 5: Ashlyn Zilliken/Miranda Erro (UA) def. Brooke Plessner/Maddie Schrandt (MSU): 21-14, 21-13
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 1, 3, 4
Missouri State 4 – Arizona Christian 1
Flight 1: Misty McCall/Mia Scheepens (ACU) def. Becca Bach/Manuela Niemeyer (MSU): 21-16, 12-21, 15-13
Flight 2: MacKenzie Steele/Amanda Cleary (MSU) def. Riley Brown/Haley Brown (ACU): 21-9, 21-13
Flight 3: Olivia Muriel/Erin Eschleman (MSU) def. Eliana Cho/Railey Dykstra (ACU): 21-13, 17-21, 15-10
Flight 4: Olivia Rattler/Allyson Larkin (MSU) def. Sydney Shaw/Brianna Boeckman (ACU): 22-20, 21-4
Flight 5: Brooke Plessner/Maddie Schrandt (MSU) def. Amaya Brown/Emily Katzer (ACU): 21-19, 21-19
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 5, 3, 1
