DENTON, Texas – Senior Sarah Eakin turned in a strong performance, but Midwestern State (2-4) suffered a pair of defeats at the Pioneer Invitational on Friday at Kitty Magee Arena. MSU dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Henderson State (17-25, 19-25, 25-21, 26-24, 13-15) before being swept by Sioux Falls, 3-0 (16-25, 15-25, 17-25). 
 
MATCH ONE

Henderson State 3 Midwestern State 2
 
MSU rallied from two sets down to force a deciding fifth set but could not complete the comeback in a 3-2 loss to the Reddies.   
 
Down 2-0, the Mustangs picked up 25-21 and 26-24 wins to force the tie-breaker. Eakin and Lauren Honeycutt notched four kills apiece in the third set before Eakin erupted for six kills in the fourth set.
 
In the deciding fifth set, MSU Texas grabbed a 13-12 lead on a Rachel Howes service ace. HSU then rattled off three straight points to take the set and the match.
 
Eakin hammered 19 kills to the tune of a .474 hitting percentage while Sarah Glawe notched 33 assists.
 
Lauren Honeycutt chipped in with 13 kills and 3 digs. On the defensive end, junior Audry Lopez led all players with 24 digs.
 
MATCH TWO

Sioux Falls 3 Midwestern State 0
 
The Mustangs ran into a buzz saw in the nightcap, losing all three sets to Sioux Falls. MSU led the first set 12-11 after an attack error from the Cougars, but USF closed on a 14-4 run to win the opening frame.
 
The Cougars never trailed across the final two sets to improve to 6-0. 
 
MATCH ONE NOTES
- Glawe's 33 assists was a season-high
- Henderson State outhit the Mustangs .279 to .216

MATCH TWO NOTES
- Audry Lopez collected 10 digs to finish with 34 on the day 

UP NEXT
Another tournament as MSU Texas heads to the DBU Patriot Tournament for Saturday matches against Missouri Southern State (11 a.m.) and Dallas Baptist (5 p.m.).