PITTSBURG, Kan. — Missouri Southern State fell to Truman State 3-2 on Friday, dropping the final three sets after taking the first two. The Lions won the opening sets 30-28 and 25-16 before Truman State responded with wins of 25-18, 25-14 and 17-15 to complete the comeback.
MSSU is 3-5 overall. Truman St. is 2-6 overall.
Addysen Alvis finished with 22 kills, five service aces, 13 digs and 27 points.
Tiana Simmons added 19 kills while hitting .370 and collected eight digs.
Brenna Weaver recorded 51 assists, 16 digs and two aces.
Reagan Ashby posted 24 digs and added 10 assists.
Missouri Southern outlasted Truman State 30-28 in the opening set, recovering from a 17-14 deficit and navigating extra points before closing the set. Earlier, the Lions answered the opening ace with a Truman State service error and an
Addysen Alvis ace, and kills from
Tiana Simmons,
Olivia Burmeister,
Kenzie Jones,
Grace Gardner and Alvis helped the home team reach a 13-13 tie. When Truman State went ahead 17-14, Southern responded with Burmeister's kill and an opponent attack error, and after Truman State scored again, Jones and Alvis kills followed by a
Brenna Weaver ace gave the Lions a 19-18 lead. Truman St. answered to lead 21-19 and later 25-24, but Simmons tied the set at 25, Alvis put MSSU ahead 26-25 and 27-26 on separate kills, and Jones added a kill for a 28-27 edge. After a service error made it 28-28, Gardner's kill and Alvis' service ace gave Missouri Southern the final two points and the set.
The Lions closed the second set by winning the final six rallies from 19-16, using five straight
Epifania Salamasina service points and kills from Jones,
Addysen Alvis and
Brenna Weaver to finish a 25-16 set win. Earlier, Gardner and Alvis helped Southern build a 5-1 lead, but Truman St. worked back to tie the set multiple times through 14-14. MSSU created separation from there with a Burmeister kill, two Gardner service aces and a
Tiana Simmons kill to move ahead 18-14. After Truman St. got within 19-16, a service error returned the ball to Missouri Southern, and Salamasina served out the set as Jones and Alvis each added two late kills before Weaver delivered the final point.
Southern answered a 14-8 deficit by winning seven of the next eight rallies, getting three kills and a service ace from
Addysen Alvis before Gardner's kill tied the third set at 15-15. Earlier, the Lions opened the set with three straight points and later pulled even at 6-6 on a
Tiana Simmons kill, but Truman St. used a six-point stretch to move ahead 13-7. MSSU's comeback included blocks involving Gardner, Burmeister and Jones, along with Alvis' scoring run and a
Brenna Weaver assist on the tying kill. After Simmons tied the set again at 17-17, Truman St. scored six straight points and closed the set 25-18.
Missouri Southern dropped the fourth set 25-14 after Truman St. built an early margin and kept the Lions from putting together more than two straight points. Earlier,
Tiana Simmons put MSSU on the board after Truman St. scored the first three points, and Gardner added two kills as Southern tried to answer deficits of 6-1 and 9-2. Simmons and Gardner carried much of the attack with four kills apiece, while
Brenna Weaver assisted 10 of the team's 11 kills in the set. The Lions added late points from
Addysen Alvis and a block by Burmeister, but Truman St. closed the set from 20-12 to finish it at 25-14.
MSSU erased late set points twice, getting a kill from
Addysen Alvis and a
Tiana Simmons finish to tie the fifth set at 14-14, then another Simmons kill to make it 15-15 before Truman St. scored the final two points for a 17-15 finish. Earlier, Jones and Gardner combined on a block for the opening point, but Truman St. answered with a stretch that put Southern behind 5-1. Gardner stopped that run with a kill from
Brenna Weaver, and Alvis followed with back-to-back aces to bring the Lions within 5-4. Missouri Southern continued to respond in pieces, including a Gardner kill from
Reagan Ashby and a block by Burmeister and Gardner during a push to 8-6, before late kills from Weaver, Alvis and Simmons kept the set within reach.
