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YOUNGSVILLE, La. – Missouri State beach volleyball (26-7) had its season come to an end Friday afternoon in the third round of the contender’s bracket of the Conference USA Tournament. The Bears were swept by the No. 5-seed Tulane Green Wave, 3-0, at Sugar Beach after an impressive showing on Thursday.
“I’m proud of the work that this team has put in to get us to where we are right now,” head coach Ashley Emery said. “The growth we’ve seen in two short years is a direct reflection of our seniors and the buy-in they have given from the beginning. We have done things that haven’t been done in the Midwest with beach volleyball yet. I know our returners will continue to set the standard for the new Beach Bears.”
The Bears were among the top six teams remaining in the tournament and went 2-2 with wins against Jacksonville State and UTEP on Thursday.
(7) Missouri State 0 – (5) RV Tulane 3
For the second time in three seasons, Missouri State’s season ended at the hands of Tulane, which did so in the 2022 CCSA Tournament. The Green Wave handed Missouri State its third sweep of the year and second of the weekend.
Flight No. 4 was the first to conclude with Tulane’s Samantha Green and Skylar Ensign taking over against Allyson Larkin and Olivia Rattler. The Green Wave pairing jumped out to an 18-5 lead in the first set. MSU scored two points while Tulane was at set point before the Green Wave took the one point they needed. The second set started much closer with the Bears trailing by just two after 18 points played, but Green and Ensign pulled away to win, 21-8, 21-12.
Larkin ends her season with a 26-6 record, one of the best by a freshman in Bears history. Rattler goes 16-3 in 2024 after becoming a regular in the lineup midway through the season.
Tulane earned its second win of the match at flight No. 1 as Trinity Jackson and Molly Trodd defeated Becca Bach and Manuela Niemeyer in two fairly equal sets. Missouri State had an early flash scoring four of the first five points in the first set, but Tulane matched that run to tie it at five. The Green Wave kept the Bears at arm’s length, winning at No. 1, 21-16, 21-13.
Bach and Niemeyer ended the season 17-13 as a pair, more than doubling the most wins by a No. 1 Bear pair in a single season.
Missouri State’s season met its end as the match at flight No. 5 concluded. Tulane’s Amelia Mullen and McKenzie Cutler defeated Brooke Plessner and Maddie Schrandt in identical 21-17, 21-17 sets. The Green Wave used short, closing bursts to seal the win and keep their season alive.
Plessner and Scrandt had their 11-match winning streak snapped and ended the most successful season by a Missouri State pair to date. The two finished 27-5 as a pair (27-4 at No. 5) to own the most wins by a pair in a single season at any flight. Plessner ends her career as Missouri State’s all-time wins leader at 48. Schrandt’s 27 wins are the most by a freshman in a single season.
“Having experienced this program over the last four years, I am incredibly proud to end my senior season with this team,” Plessner said. “We have worked so hard and pushed each other to improve in every way possible. It is a bittersweet ending, but I have all the love and support from my coaches, teammates, family and friends. I am excited to see what amazing things this program does in the future. Go Bears!”
Two matches at flight Nos. 2 and 3 went unfinished as Tulane secured the team win. The Green Wave won the first set at No. 2 as Sara Hall Savka Popovic took a 21-18 lead over MacKenzie Steele and Amanda Cleary. The Bear duo ends the season 20-11, playing every match this season at No. 2.
At flight No. 3, Olivia Muriel and Erin Eschleman trailed early against Lara Torruella and Tawny Ensign. Tulane took the first set, 21-14, before the match was called. Muriel and Eschleman each had breakout seasons, finishing 24-7 as a duo highlighted by a 10-0 start to the season.
“I can’t say enough how grateful I am for my staff and the time they have put into helping me grow this thing,” Emery said. “Keep your eye out for the Bears. We are doing big things here in Springfield.”
Results
(7) Missouri State – (5) RV Tulane
Flight 1: Trinity Jackson/Molly Trodd (TUL) def. Becca Bach/Manuela Niemeyer (MSU): 21-16, 21-13
Flight 2: Sara Hall/Savka Popovic (TUL) vs. MacKenzie Steele/Amanda Cleary (MSU): 21-18, Unfinished
Flight 3: Lara Torruella/Tawny Ensign (TUL) vs. Olivia Muriel/Erin Eschleman (MSU): 21-14, Unfinished
Flight 4: Samantha Green/Skylar Ensign (TUL) def. Olivia Rattler/Allyson Larkin (MSU): 21-8, 21-12
Flight 5: Amelia Mullen/McKenzie Cutler (TUL) def. Brooke Plessner/Maddie Schrandt (MSU): 21-17, 21-17
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 5
