ORU Volleyball Falls At Missouri State

Oral Roberts University struggled offensively and fell to Missouri State, 3-1, in the opening match of the University Plaza/Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational. ORU is now 2-2 with the loss.

THE BASICS

Score: Missouri State 3, Oral Roberts 1 (25-20, 25-23, 24-26, 25-21)

Records: Missouri State – 2-2, Oral Roberts – 2-2

Location: Hammons Center – Springfield, Mo.

TURNING POINT

ORU had won the 3rd set and was up, 9-5, in the 4th before a 7-0 Missouri State run put the Bears ahead for good.

THE LEADERS

Oral Roberts: Laura Milos recorded her first career double-double, with 16 kills and 15 digs. Lucija Bojanjac also had a double-double, her second, with 11 digs and 37 assists.

Missouri State: Olivia Brand recorded 15 kills, and Maddy Hogan led all players with 19 digs.

1ST SET – MISSOURI STATE, 25-20

The set was tied at 10-all before the hosts took control with a 5-1 run, capped by a combined block from Brand and Simone House, to take a 15-11 lead. Missouri State led the rest of the way, with House smoking a kill on set point to give the Bears a five-point win.

2ND SET – MISSOURI STATE, 25-23

ORU led most of the set but fell behind for good, 12-11, on a Lily Johnson kill. The Golden Eagles fought off two set points before House tallied another kill to give the home side a 25-23 victory.

3RD SET – ORU, 26-24

The Golden Eagles again built a lead, stretching the advantage to 18-12 on a kill from Nika Mostahinic. But MSU rallied again, scoring five straight points late in the set, capped by a Kinsey McCarter kill, to draw even at 22-all.

ORU called timeout and got back on track, scoring the final two points to win, 26-24. A Milos kill and an MSU error won it in extra points for the Golden Eagles.

4TH SET – MISSOURI STATE, 25-21

ORU won the first three points and took a 9-5 lead as Mostahinic came up with a pair of crucial kills. But the Bears scored the next seven points, capped by a House solo block, to lead by three. The Bears never trailed again and put the match away with a four-point win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

- ORU hit just .110 as a team

- Jovana Poljasevic tallied seven kills on the night without committing an error. She was also in on two of ORU's three blocks, including their first solo effort of the season

- Mostahinic saw her first significant action of the season and registered eight kills

- Sadie Schaffner hit .400 for ORU, with seven kills on 15 attempts

- Missouri State hit .210 as a team. Brand led the way with 15 kills and Johnson had 14.

NEWS AND NOTES

- ORU fell to 8-27 all-time against Missouri State and 14-20 in tournaments hosted by Missouri State over the years.

- Head Coach Sheera Sirola is now 211-135 in her career

- ORU has now lost the first match of their last three tournaments. In addition to tonight's setback, they fell to Houston Baptist, 3-1, in the quarterfinals of the 2013 Southland Conference Tournament, and they were tripped by Nevada, 3-0, to start last week's Asics Classic.

UP NEXT

ORU continues play at the Dr. Mary Jo Winn Invitational on Friday, when they face 2013 NCAA Tournament participant Milwaukee. First serve in Springfield, Mo., is scheduled for noon CT.