CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Missouri State picked up a pair of marquee volleyball wins Saturday at the Illini Classic, topping 14th-ranked Illinois in the evening match after sweeping Arkansas earlier in the day.
Lily Johnson and Lynsey Wright earned all-tournament honors as the Bears finished second following tie-break procedures after MSU, Illinois and Xavier all went 2-1 at the event.
The Bears head to Hawai'i next week for three matches against traditional west coast powers. MSU takes on No. 6 Hawai'i on Thursday, 12th-ranked UCLA on Friday and Pacific on Saturday.
Arkansas Recap (Won 25-16, 25-19, 29-27)
Missouri State trailed for only four points in the match, three of which came at the end of a third set in which the Bears fought off a trio of set points before Johnson hit back-to-back kills to clinch the win.
The Bears led 21-15 in the third before the Razorbacks went up 25-24 for their first of three chances to extend the match. MSU countered each time until Johnson came through to finish the match with 14 kills and 16 digs.
Missouri State jumped ahead 4-0 in the first set and three of Ashley Ophoven's 10 kills came during a 6-0 run that put MSU comfortably ahead 14-5. The Bears hit .296 with three blocks in the 25-16 win. In the second, Arkansas led only at 2-1, and an Emily Butters ace put MSU up for good at 3-2. Missouri State held Arkansas to seven kills and .091 hitting in the frame.
MSU finished the match with a .198-.095 advantage in hitting percentage, and also led in kills (44-24), digs (55-42) and aces (4-3). Butters lifted 15 digs, and Lauren Boone dished out 32 assists.
No. 14 Illinois Recap (Won 25-22, 14-25, 25-22, 25-15, 15-10)
Led by 17 kills apiece from Johnson and Ophoven, the Bears scored their first top-25 win since 2013 against the 14th-ranked Fighting Illini. Those two played a vital role in the final set, as Ophoven had four kills and two blocks while Johnson added three kills and a block. Ophoven's first three kills helped MSU to a 6-1 lead, and the Bears led by at least three points from there, using three blocks to keep Illinois to a .040 hitting percentage in the period.
The Bears fell behind by five points early in the first set before rallying to lead 14-11 on a Boone kill. The set was tied six times after that, and Missouri State closed on a 4-0 run for the victory. The third period played out much the same way, with 14 tie scores on the way to an 19-19 deadlock. Neither club led by more than two points until a 4-0 MSU run made it 22-19. A Simone House kill earned set point at 24-21, and Wright followed shortly thereafter with a kill for the win.
The Fighting Illini dominated each of their set victories but could not sustain momentum in consecutive frames. Illinois hit .520 with 16 kills in the second, and .375 with 15 kills in the fourth, but the MSU defense limited the home team to a .214 attack efficiency in the remaining three sets.
Wright added 11 kills for MSU, who hit .192 compared to .305 for Illinois thanks in large part to 16 Illini blocks. Illinois held slight leads in kills (61-59) and digs (58-53), while MSU led 5-3 in aces thanks to three from Johnson and two from freshman Daniele Messa.
