Tonight, the Missouri Southern volleyball team hosted an MIAA battle against the Southwest Baptist University Bearcats.

The first set turned out to be the closest of the evening. In a set that featured 15 ties and eight lead changes, the Bearcats and the Lions would go back and forth, needing more than the standard 25 points to find an eventual decision. The Lions stood in a strong position up 20-16, before an SBU rally that eventually won them the set 28-26 after a double hit call against the Lions.

That set proved to be pivotal in the final outcome of the game.

In set two, the teams remained tight until midway through the set when the Lions went on a run that found them leading by a score of 21-13. They went on to win 25-18.

The Lions and Bearcats split the third and fourth sets. The Bearcats won set three by a score of 25-19, while the Lions won set four 25-18. The fourth set was the only of the evening to not have a single tie or lead change.

In the fifth set, the Lions ran into trouble. After scoring the first point of the set, the Bearcats went on a big run and took an 8-2 lead. The visiting Bearcats never looked back and went on to win the set 15-5. This loss makes the Lions 3-8 overall.

Attacking errors hurt the Lions all night. They had 33 errors while the Bearcats only had 21.

Sophomore setter Abby Finder had quite the performance with a total of 50 assists in the match. To put that in perspective, the Bearcats only totaled 45 as a team.

Junior Katie Politte also had an impressive performance. She led the Lions in kills (19), points (21) and tied for the lead in serving aces with two. She tied for second on the team with digs (13).

The Lions will look to bounce back from the loss on Oct. 1 against Central Oklahoma.