Springfield Standard

Missouri State University's women's volleyball team had its five-match winning streak halted by UTEP on Friday evening. The match, held at Memorial Gym in El Paso, ended with the Miners defeating the Bears 3-1 (25-11, 25-19, 21-25, 25-17).

UTEP, currently leading Conference USA with a record of 20-3 overall and 10-1 in conference play, started strong by taking an early 11-1 lead in the first set. The Miners finished the opening set hitting .500 and recorded four aces along with five blocks.

Missouri State (10-12 overall, 5-6 in conference) responded in the second set, matching UTEP through 12 tie scores up to a 15-all mark before UTEP pulled ahead to secure a two-set advantage.

In the third set, Missouri State overcame an early deficit. The Bears posted 17 kills on .289 hitting percentage. Rilynn Finley contributed six kills while Lexi Weinberg added five. Grace Smith led defensively with three blocks during a key run that put Missouri State ahead. Four of Finley's kills came after the score reached 20 points as Missouri State took the set.

The Bears briefly led in the fourth set following a kill from Weinberg to make it 12-11. However, UTEP responded with a decisive run to close out both the set and match. The Miners hit .371 in the final frame and finished at .384 for the match.

Finley led Missouri State with 14 kills; Weinberg added 11, marking her third double-digit performance this season. As a team, Missouri State hit .176—ending an eight-match stretch where they hit at least .213—due largely to UTEP's defensive effort that included 13 blocks, their highest total by an opponent this season.

The teams are scheduled to play again Saturday at 1 p.m. Central time.