SPRINGFIELD — Missouri State became the third Division I program with 1,200 all-time victories Thursday with a sweep of visiting McNeese State University in the opening match of the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational at Hammons Student Center.
The Bears (4-3) won by set scores of 25-17, 25-17 and 25-15 to join UCLA and Nebraska in the exclusive wins club, as Lily JOhnson had team highs of 17 kills and 14 digs with a .485 hitting percentage, and Lyndsey Wright added 15 kills on 24 swings to hit .542. McNeese fell to 2-7 on the season.
Wright had an ace and a kill during a 5-0 run to a 14-7 lead as the Bears separated themselves in the first set. The Cowgirls cut the gap to four points before an Emily Butters ace capped a 4-0 run at 20-12, and MSU hit .419 with 18 kills in the set, with Johnson and Wright combining for 13 of those.
Missouri State's first lead of the second period came on a Wright kill during a 4-0 run that put the Bears ahead 12-10. MSU never trailed again in the set, with Johnson adding six more kills without an error, and the team hitting .316 with 19 total digs.
The Bears did not trail in the third set after a 4-1 start, and used a 7-0 run with two kills each from Wright and Ashley Ophoven to lead 22-10. MSU went on to hit .314 in the final set and a season-high .346 in the match compared to .095 for McNeese.
MSU held leads of 48-25 in kills, 50-36 in digs, 4-0 in aces and 5-4 in aces. Butters had 13 digs, and Daniele Messa handed out 29 assists. Simone House finished with three blocks.
The Bears continue play Friday at 7 p.m. against No. 12 Ohio State (5-1).
