JONESBORO, Ark. -- Brylee Kelly registered a career-high 16 kills to help the Wichita State volleyball team sweep Missouri State (25-22, 26-24, 25-16) Friday morning at the A-State Invitational.
 
The Shockers (1-0) are back in action later this evening against UT Martin (5 p.m.) and will take on the hosts, Arkansas State, at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The latter match will air on ESPN+.
 
Kelly – a redshirt sophomore from Monee, Ill. -- committed just two errors and hit .500 for the match.
 
Southeastern Louisiana transfer Kailin Newsome stacked up 11 kills in her Shocker debut.
 
Lauren Phillips also impressed in her first collegiate action. The 2020 redshirt handled setter duties and tallied 34 assists and three services aces.
 
Lily Liekweg paced the Shockers with 16 digs.
 
For Missouri State (0-1), Amelia Flynn totaled 10 kills and Morgan Sprague handed out 28 assists.
 
The Shockers outhit the Bears .257 to .192.
 
WSU defeated its former Missouri Valley Conference rival for the 12^th time in 14 tries.
 
The Shockers also improved to 15-7 in season-openers under Chris Lamb with five-straight victories.
 

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First Set: WSU, 25-22
The Shockers used a 10-1 run to turn an early 6-3 deficit into a 13-7 cushion. Kelly supplied three kills during that stretch. Phillips finished the run by serving up five-straight points, including a pair of aces. MSU tied the match briefly at 18, but the Shockers scored the next three points to regain control. Newsome helped slam the door with a team-best six kills and Liekweg supplied seven digs.
 
Second Set: WSU, 26-24
The Shockers squandered two potential set-points but quickly regrouped. After MSU tied things at 24, Kelly registered back-to-back kills to give WSU a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. The Shockers hit .289 (17 kills, four errors).
 
Third Set: WSU, 25-16
WSU scored the first three points and never looked back. Phillips served the last four points in a 5-0 run that helped the Shockers open up a 17-6 advantage. MSU hit a paltry .037 with seven errors against eight kills.