Freshmen Shine as Bears Go 2-0 On Opening Day

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Missouri State freshman outside hitters Rilynn Finley and Aniya Joseph combined for 78 kills in two matches at the Spartan Classic on Friday, helping the volleyball Bears to victories over South Carolina Upstate and UNC Greensboro inside Fleming Gymnasium for the team’s first 2-0 start since the 2020-21 season.

In the opener against USC Upstate, Joseph (21) and Finley (19) posted the top two kill totals for an MSU freshman debut on record (data back to 1987), with Joseph becoming the first MoState rookie with 20 kills since Amelia Flynn had 27 at Drake on Nov. 10, 2018.

In the evening match at UNCG, Finley tallied 20 kills and Joseph added 18, making them both the first Bears’ freshmen to debut with consecutive double-figure matches since Tina Noelke in 1990. Joseph also had 10-plus digs in both matches, with consecutive double-doubles to begin a freshman career also a first since Noelke 34 years ago.

Meanwhile, a Missouri State senior also enjoyed a notable night as Morgan Sprague became the fourth player in school history with 3,000 career assists during the UNCG match.

The Bears conclude play in Greensboro at 10 a.m. (Central) Saturday against Robert Morris.

Missouri State def. USC Upstate, 3-1 (25-15, 26-24, 22-25, 25-21)
Joseph and Finley made their presence felt immediately with 40 combined kills in the season-opening win.

The Bears closed the opening set on an 18-6 run after trailing 9-7, hitting .393 compared to .000 for the Spartans for the early advantage.

Joseph and Finley had nine kills apiece in the second period, with six of Joseph’s coming after a 16-16 tie, and Finley scoring for points 23, 24 and 25 before Joseph tallied the winner.

The Spartans stayed alive in the third, jumping ahead 13-8 and fight off a pair of MSU comebacks as the Bears twice served for the lead but never regained it.

Then in the fourth, the Bears turned a 17-16 deficit into a 21-17 lead with four kills and a block and held on for the victory.

Brooke Eslinger had a career-high 26 digs, Sprague dished out 50 assists with 16 digs for the double-double, while Joseph (11) and Kate Owen (10) also reached double figures.

The Bears hit .279 compared to .179 for Upstate and led 62-52 in kills and 78-60 in digs.

Missouri State def. UNC Greensboro, 3-2 (25-19, 21-25, 25-18, 17-25, 15-5)
The Bears alternated set wins with the Spartans, culminating in a 15-5 victory in the fifth in a match where a four-point margin was the closest result in any set.

Finley (20) and Joseph (18) once again led the way offensively in the kill department, and Maddy Bushnell added 10 on .304 hitting.

The Bears never trailed in the opening set, then gave way to a 6-0 run midway through the second as UNCG seized momentum for the tie. Sprague’s milestone 3,000 assist came early in that period.

MoState jumped ahead 7-2 and never looked back in the third, and the Spartans responded to lead for the majority of the fourth period.

In the fifth, Missouri State blitzed UNCG with a .368 attack efficiency and four blocks in big win. Finley went 4-for-5 on the attack, while Sprague had a pair of stuffs.

The Bears led in most statistical categories, owning the advantage in kills (65-51), hitting percentage (.256-179), digs (87-56) and blocks (9-8).

Neele’ge’ Sims equaled a career high with eight kills, Brooke Eslinger had a career-best nine assists along with 19 digs, and Sprague notched another double-double with 44 assists and 17 digs. Kate Owen added 14 digs and Joseph had 12.