SEARCY, Ark. — Missouri Southern volleyball defeated Union, 3-2 (15-25, 25-22, 28-26, 21-25, 15-10), Saturday at the Harding Invitational held at Rhodes-Reaves Field House.
Missouri Southern finished with 59 kills and 12 service aces, then took the fifth set 15-10 after the teams split the first four sets.
MSSU is now 5-6 overall in 2026 after a 2-1 weekend at the Harding Invitational. Union is 4-7 overall this season.
Following the tournament,
Tiana Simmons was named to the 2026 Harding Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Grace Gardner finished with 20 points, 17 kills, four block assists and one service ace.
Tiana Simmons recorded 19 kills and 12 digs while hitting .271.
Kasey Goldberg collected 18 digs and served six aces, adding eight assists.
Brenna Weaver posted 41 assists, six digs and two block assists.
FIRST SET
The Lions erased a 12-8 deficit with four straight points in the first set, getting a kill from
Epifania Salamasina, a Gardner-
Olivia Burmeister block and a Gardner kill from
Brenna Weaver to tie it at 12-12 before Union pulled away for a 25-15 set win.
Earlier, Southern opened with a block by Burmeister and Gardner and built a 6-2 lead behind a Goldberg service ace, a
Kenzie Jones kill and Bulldogs attack errors. After MSSU led 8-6, Union scored six straight points to move ahead 12-8, setting up Missouri Southern's response. Union then answered the 12-12 tie with seven consecutive points, including four Kylie Creech service aces, and the Lions got late points from a Burmeister kill and Union errors before dropping the opening set 25-15.
SECOND SET
Missouri Southern changed the second set with a seven-point surge, turning a 9-11 deficit into a 16-11 lead behind four Simmons kills and a Jones service ace, then held off Union for a 25-22 set win.
Earlier, after Union opened ahead 3-0, the Lions worked back through kills from Simmons, Gardner,
Addysen Alvis and Jones to move in front 5-4. Union later trimmed a 17-12 MSSU lead to 17-16, but a service error and back-to-back Gardner kills from Weaver and Burmeister pushed Southern back to 20-16.
After Union cut the margin to 23-22, Simmons put Missouri Southern at set point with a kill from Weaver, and Gardner finished the set on another Weaver assist.
THIRD SET
In the third set, MSSU outlasted Union, answering a 26-26 tie with kills from Weaver and Simmons to finish a 28-26 win.
Earlier, the Lions traded points through the opening stretch, with Simmons, Alvis and Gardner providing early kills before Jones served an ace during a push to 9-7. Union moved ahead 20-16, but Missouri Southern worked back behind kills from Simmons and a Jones ace, then tied the set at 23-23 on a Gardner kill.
Goldberg followed with a service ace for a 24-23 edge, and after Union tied the set at 24, 25 and 26, the Lions converted the late opportunity to take the set.
FOURTH SET
Southern turned an 18-13 deficit into a 19-18 fourth set lead with six straight points, using a Union service error before Goldberg served five consecutive points with three aces.
Earlier, Gardner helped MSSU start quickly with three early kills, but Union moved ahead 13-7 during a stretch that included Lions attack errors and an Isabella Messer ace. Alvis helped pull Missouri Southern back within 15-13 with a kill, a service ace and pressure that produced Union attack errors. After Goldberg's serving run put the Lions in front, Union answered, and Southern later tied the set at 21-21 before the Bulldogs scored the final four points to take the set 25-21.
FIFTH SET
The Lions controlled the deciding fifth set with an early scoring push and finished it off 15-10.
MSSU opened with a Gardner kill from Weaver and a block by Alvis and Burmeister, then Alvis added a kill to make it 3-1.
Alvis stayed at the service line for four straight Missouri Southern points, with Simmons putting down back-to-back kills, Alvis serving an ace and Gardner adding another kill for a 7-1 advantage.
Union cut the margin to 12-9, but Burmeister answered with a kill, Gardner added another at 14-10, and Gardner closed the set with a kill from Goldberg.
NEXT: MSSU next opens MIAA conference play with a pair of road matches. The Lions face Northeastern State on Friday, Sept. 18 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, before heading to Fort Smith, Arkansas, for a meeting at UAFS on Sept. 19.
Fall Missouri Southern Tickets are currently on sale
online. Fans can also purchase an
MIAA Network subscription to support Missouri Southern Athletics and catch all the Lions action this 2026-27 season.
SouthernFest Dinner & Auction, presented by Crossland Construction: The Southernfest Auction presented by Crossland Construction is current live and accepting bids!! Register to bid today at
mssulions.com/auction2026 ahead of Saturday's (Sept. 12) Dinner & Auction.
