GOLDEN, Colo. -- Despite rallying to take a set from Colorado Christian, Midwestern State fell in for four sets in its opener at Lockridge Arena -- 16-25, 25-27, 25-22, 19-25.

Sophomore Lauryn Bourne led the Mustangs' attack with 19 kills.

MSU started the first set on the back foot, falling behind the Cougars in quick fashion by 3-9. Three attack errors by the opposition put the Mustangs within two. From there, Lessette Lefforge and Alex Serna each tallied a kill. Lefforge saw seven total kills for the night and a .150 hitting percent with three block assists.

Unfortunately, ball handing errors by Midwestern State hurt their chances at a comeback. In the end, Colorado Christian took set one 25-16 with a .393 hitting percent versus the Mustangs' .208.

The second set was much closer as the two teams battled within two points up to the Cougars' lead of 9-13. The duo of Libby Goodman and Breanna Allen accounted for ten of the team's 15 kills. Bourne made five kills in the round while Taylor Anderson and transfer Hannah Moore both contributed four. Anderson concluded the game with nine kills and two block assists. Moore tallied ten kills and four digs from the back line.

Two attack errors allowed CCU to take the lead at 26-25 and another kill sealed the deal for set two.

Set three was the Mustangs' time to shine as Bourne registered six kills with Moore and Kaitlynn Stoker adding four to overcome 25-19. Freshman Reagan Willms collected seven of her 17 total assists in the third set of her MSU debut. The team's .341 hitting percent beat out the Cougars' .190 to force a fourth set.

Set four did not fall the way Midwestern State hoped and ended in a 25-19 defeat for the Cougars. Autumn Roach made seven of her 23 assists in the final set while adding nine digs overall. Freshman Madison Becker did well on the back line and made 14 total digs to lead MSU.

Midwestern State looks to reset quickly and bounce back in the match against Colorado School of Mines at 7 p.m. CT. The second of the double header is streamed online and live stats are also available.