OZARK, Mo. – The Missouri State beach volleyball team continued its hot start to the season, staying undefeated (6-0) after earning wins over Southwest Baptist and UT Martin here Friday.
The Bears opened their second-consecutive home tournament with a 4-1 defeat of Southwest Baptist before taking down UT Martin, 4-1, for the second time in as many weeks.
Against the Bearcats to begin the day, the Bears earned wins in flights two through five, taking down all four pairs in two sets each.
"I am just so happy to see the growth in this team," said head coach Ashley Emery. "From one to 19 they just pull for each other. We have people hungry to get into the lineup and they're behind their teammates cheering them on and giving each other advice to win. I'm proud to get to coach them. We suffered a couple of unexpected losses today, but these girls are gamers and will come back fighting tomorrow."
Playing in flight No. 4, the all-freshman duo of Manuela Niemeyer and MacKenzie Steele stayed unbeaten on the year, first defeating SBU's Janel Pido and Aleena Peterson (21-9, 21-13) before taking down the UT Martin pair, Kayla Carrell and Haeleigh Paulino, in a come-from-behind three-set rally (13-21, 21-16, 16-14).
In flights three and five, Olivia Rattler and Brooke Plessner and Riley Drew and Addison Crider also had an unblemished day, as the former earned a 21-16, 21-16 victory over the duo from SBU before taking down UT Martin's Kayla Bryant and Addy Vaughn (21-15, 16-21,17-15) after falling to the pair last week. Drew and Crider experienced the same success, beating SBU's Julia Becker and Carlee Lill before earning a win over UT Martin's Jenna Vallee and Ryan Rednour (21-18, 10-21, 15-10).
In flight No. 2, Grayson Hall and Olivia Muriel stayed unbeaten to begin the day, defeating SBU's Katie Pogue and Gabrielle Belcher in straight sets (21-11, 21-19). Against UT Martin, though, the duo tallied their first loss of the season. After narrowly defeating Logan Wallick and Dylan Mott last week in come-from-behind fashion to clinch the match, Hall and Muriel fell in three sets in the rematch (21-19, 16-21, 6-15).
Tylar Garrett and Becca Bach also split their day's matches, falling to SBU's Bailey Lasater and Azalea Clendenning in a tough, three-set battle (21-16, 18-21, 21-19). The pair bounced back against the Skyhawks, though, defeating pair in straight sets (21-17, 21-16).
The Bears continue play Saturday at Volleyball Beach Ozark with a 9 a.m. match against McKendree before taking on Eastern Kentucky at 1:45 p.m.
#BearsUnite
