Bears Fall to UT Arlington in Tournament Opener

SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State suffered a 3-0 loss at the hands of unbeaten UT Arlington Thursday evening at Hammons Student Center to close out day one of the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational.
 
The Mavericks (7-0) won by set scores of 25-19, 25-19, 25-23 and held the Bears (5-3) to .165 hitting, MSU’s first match this season below the .200 mark.
 
Morgan Sprague moved up to third in school history in career assists with 32 in the match, Rilynn Finley hit .281 with 14 kills, while GG Carvacho (six kills) and Riley Ourth (two aces, five digs) both had their most productive matches so far this season.
 
UTA scored the first two points of the match and never trailed in the opening period, slowing extending its lead to 20-11 before a late MSU charge. The Bears rallied to cut the gap to 22-19 before the Mavericks rattled off three consecutive kills for the win.
 
The second set played out much like the first, with MoState’s only lead at 1-0. The Mavericks forced the Bears into eight errors – four of those being blocks – and fended off a late 4-0 run by the home team to gain the 2-0 match lead.
 
The third set was tied 11 times with seven lead changes, and the Bears went up 11-6 after the first two aces of Ourth’s career. UTA chipped away and regained the lead at 16-15, then MoState scored three straight kills for a 21-19 advantage. After sideouts to 23-21, the Mavs closed the match on a 4-0 run to complete the sweep.
 
UTA hit .279 and owned a 54-42 advantage in digs over the Bears, who entered the match ranked second nationally in that category.
 
Missouri State takes on Weber State (2-4) at 6 p.m. Friday. It’s Future Bears Night with all kids 12 and under admitted free. After the match, fans will have a chance to come to the court and serve with the Bears before an autograph session.