Tulsa Tops Volleyball Bears 3-1 to Spoil Home Opener

SPRINGFIELD – The visiting Tulsa Golden Hurricane handed Missouri State a 3-1 (25-20, 25-19, 17-25, 32-30) setback at Hammons Student Center Wednesday evening in the Bears’ home opener.
 
The match was nearly a dead heat statistically, and Tulsa (3-1) outscored the Bears (2-2) by just a 99-94 margin over the course of four sets.
 
Reigning Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Week Aniya Joseph tallied her third double-double of the year with 13 kills and 11 digs, Maddy Bushnell had 11 kills, while Neele’ge Sims hit .316 with eight kills and Lexi Weinberg had her best match as a Bear by going 6-for-13 on the attack without an error.
 
Five Bears had between 11 and 13 digs, with freshman Kya Johnson going for 13 along with four service aces. Morgan Sprague had 46 assists and 12 digs for her third double-double this season.
 
Tulsa pulled away from a 14-14 tie in the opening set and never trailed in the second on the way to a 2-0 advantage before the Bears hit a blistering .385 in the third period.
 
Joseph had five kills and Sims went 4-for-5 in the third, while Johnson served two aces and MSU limited TU to a .030 attack efficiency.
 
The final set was tied 21 times with nine lead changes, and the Bears twice held set point at 24-23 and 26-25. The Golden Hurricane sided out each time, and MoState spoiled five match points until TU’s Rachel Brown had consecutive kills from a 30-all tie to secure the victory.
 
Missouri State heads to Martin, Tenn., for the Skyhawk Classic on Friday and Saturday. The Bears play North Alabama at 9 a.m. Friday, UAPB at 4 p.m. Friday and UT Martin at 2 p.m. Saturday.