Missouri State’s volleyball team improved its win streak to eight matches in a row Saturday evening with an impressive 3-1 win over Missouri Valley Conference rival Illinois State in front of 2,306 fans at Redbird Arena in Normal, Ill.
Game scores in favor of the Bears (13-2, 4-0 MVC) were 32-30, 30-26, 21-30 and 30-27. Illinois State, which entered the contest receiving three votes in the AVCA Top 25 poll, fell to 10-5 and 2-2 in the league.
Missouri State took the upper hand early in the match by outlasting the Redbirds in game one. The Bears led by as many as five at 23-18 but saw the lead dwindle before the Redbirds took control with a 28-27 advantage. Missouri State regained the lead at 29-28 after back-to-back kills from sophomores Addie Foley and Sara Staubach, and served for the match on three occasions before Bethany Fuller made the final kill for the pivotal 32-30 win.
After seeing the momentum tip in ISU’s favor following a 30-21 game three loss, the Bears played their best offensive game of the match to seal the win, hitting .372 with 19 kills and three errors in the fourth game. The Bears pulled ahead 6-1 early and kept the Redbirds at bay until ISU cut the lead to 24-23. Jamie Adams gave MSU a 25-23 lead with her 16th and final kill of the contest, and Staubach finished it off with two of her career-best 21 kills.
Missouri State trailed only one time in game two and used four blocks and seven Staubach kills for the 30-26 win.
Staubach was magnificent all match, hitting .391 and recording at least four kills on .333 hitting or better in each of the four games, including seven in game two. Senior Sara Thomas was the third Bear in double figures with 11 kills while adding 14 digs for the double-double.
Five different Bears topped the 10-dig mark, including career-bests from Cara Hackmann (23) and Terri Del Conte (23), and 21 from Nikki Vandepopulier. Katelyn Panzau also chipped in 16 to go with 54 assists for the double-double, as the Bears dug 113 ISU attacks in just four games.
For the Redbirds, M.C. Richmond had 21 kills and 26 digs.
The Bears open a five-match homestand Tuesday night at 7 p.m. against Oral Roberts.
