ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Mississippi Christian split a pair of matches Saturday at Duke Wells Center, falling to UT Tyler in straight sets before bouncing back with a five-set victory over Missouri S&T.
The Choctaws opened the day with a 3-0 loss to UT Tyler, dropping sets 25-20, 25-16 and 25-18. MC responded later Saturday with a 3-2 win over Missouri S&T, taking the neutral-site match 25-12, 23-25, 25-20, 18-25, 15-13.
UT Tyler 3, Mississippi Christian 0
Mississippi Christian finished with 31 kills and a .076 hitting percentage against UT Tyler, while the Patriots hit .194 and held an 8-1 advantage in service aces.
The Choctaws controlled much of the opening set and built a 17-13 advantage before UT Tyler changed the momentum with seven consecutive points to take a 20-17 lead. MC pulled within three at 23-20 following a UT Tyler service error and a block by Cydney Mitchell, but the Patriots scored the final two points for a 25-20 win.
UT Tyler carried that momentum into the second set, using five straight points to turn a 6-5 lead into an 11-5 advantage. The Choctaws cut the deficit to 16-11 following a Mitchell block, but the Patriots maintained control down the stretch to take the set 25-16.
The Patriots built a 14-6 advantage in the third before MC answered with four straight points. A Mitchell service ace and three UT Tyler attack errors pulled the Choctaws within 14-10.
MC continued to battle late as kills from Mary Grace Foster, Mamie Fromdahl and Maeve Allen helped cut into the deficit. Mitchell added another kill, but UT Tyler closed out the match with a 25-18 victory in the third.
Mitchell finished with five total blocks, including four solo, while adding four kills on a .333 hitting percentage. Foster led the Choctaws with eight kills and added three digs. Samarin Kipple collected 18 digs and five assists, while Fromdahl recorded 14 assists and eight digs.
Mississippi Christian 3, Missouri S&T 2
The Choctaws responded in their second match of the day with a five-set victory over Missouri S&T, finishing with advantages in kills (57-53), hitting percentage (.184-.142), digs (77-61) and total blocks (13-8).
MC set the tone early, opening the first set with four straight points on Reese Regner's serve before pulling away. Leading 10-5, the Choctaws won seven of the next eight rallies to extend the advantage to 17-6. Fromdahl recorded an ace during the stretch, while Audrianna Green, Mitchell, Caroline Downey and Isabella Reyes contributed kills.
Holland Williams added two late kills, and Mitchell helped bring up set point with a block as the Choctaws cruised to a 25-12 opening-set win.
Missouri S&T answered in the second. MC rallied from a 19-16 deficit to tie the set at 19 following kills from Mitchell and Foster and a Mitchell service ace. The Choctaws also pulled even at 20-20 and 21-21 before Missouri S&T held on for a 25-23 win.
MC regained control in the third, using Reyes' serve to turn a 1-1 score into a 5-1 advantage. Missouri S&T pulled within 6-5 before the Choctaws responded with points from Williams, Foster and a Downey-Williams block.
Foster helped extend the margin to 14-8 with a kill and a block before the Choctaws held off Missouri S&T the rest of the way. Green closed the set with a kill from Fromdahl to give MC a 25-20 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Missouri S&T forced a fifth set by taking the fourth 25-18. The Choctaws recovered from an early 7-2 deficit and tied the set at 9-9 on a Mitchell block. MC remained even through 13-13 and later pulled within 19-17 on a Regner kill, but Missouri S&T answered with five straight points to take control.
The Choctaws found themselves trailing 4-1 early in the deciding set before kills from Foster, Mitchell and Williams helped them stay within striking distance. Williams and Foster combined on back-to-back blocks to tie the set at 9-9, while Foster delivered kills that evened the score at 10-10, 11-11 and 12-12.
With MC trailing 12-11, Foster tied the set before Green and Mitchell delivered points to put the Choctaws in front. Missouri S&T fought off one match point to make it 14-13, but Downey finished the match with a kill off an assist from Kipple to secure the 15-13 win.
Foster led the Choctaws with 16 kills and 18.5 points while adding four total blocks. Mitchell finished with 13 kills, four total blocks and 17 points. Williams recorded 10 kills on a .364 hitting percentage and led MC with seven total blocks.
Kipple anchored the back row with 25 digs and added nine assists.
Mississippi Christian returns home Thursday, Sept. 10, to host Flagler at 6 p.m. in Clinton.
