The Missouri State volleyball team handed UNI a 25-23, 14-25, 25-22, 25-23 Missouri Valley Conference loss at Hammons Student Center Saturday evening for its third straight win and seventh in the last eight matches.

    The Bears improved to 15-7 overall and 6-3 in the league and pulled within a match of second in the standings halfway through the MVC slate. UNI dropped to 17-4 overall and 7-2 in MVC play.

    Missouri State landed the first blow with a 25-23 set one victory over a UNI team that entered the match rated 24th nationally in the latest NCAA volleyball RPI. Junior Addie Foley had eight kills on nine swings in the first set and Sara Staubach added six more as the outside hitting duo combined for 14 kills to lead the Bears to a 1-0 lead.

     After a hiccup in the second set, the Bears regained the match lead by hitting .293 in the third set and never trailing. The set was tied as late as 15-15, but it was the Bears that pulled away late and held a 2-1 lead in the match despite being outhit .298-.220 and having 17 attacks blocked by the Panthers up to that point.

    The match seemed destined for a fifth set with UNI leading 21-15 in the fourth, but the Bears went on a 4-0 run at that point including a kill and two solo blocks from freshman Calli Norman. UNI went back up by three at 22-19 and held a 23-22 lead when Foley finished things off with two kills sandwiched around a UNI attack that sailed inches long for MSU’s upset win.

    Foley finished with 16 kills, Staubach had 13 and Norman added 10 on .389 hitting. Freshman Kelley Michnowicz had nine kills and hit .348 as well.

    Missouri State hit .255 as a team to UNI’s .279, but ended up with eight more kills than the Panthers. UNI blocked just one attack in the final set to finish with 18 in the match to MSU’s six.

    The Bears continue their homestand with Drake on Friday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.