Oct. 11, 2013
Final Stats
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Missouri State won the final two sets Friday evening after facing a 2-1 deficit to defeat Indiana State by a 3-2 margin in Missouri Valley Conference volleyball play at ISU Arena.
Set scores in favor of the Bears (11-7, 3-3 MVC) were 20-25, 25-20, 15-25, 25-18, 15-9. The Sycamores fell to 7-10 and 1-5 in league matches.
Indiana State took the first set lead for good at 10-9 and accumulated 17 kills and a .303 hitting percentage in the period compared to 11 kills for the Bears. Missouri State's deficit was between one and four points for the remainder of the set, with an Olivia Brand kill pulling MSU to 21-20 before the Sycamores rattled off four kills to close out the win.
Missouri State never trailed in the second set and used a 4-0 run that included a kill and a block from Amber Doolittle to lead 7-3. The lead grew to six at 13-7 thanks to an Indiana State attack error, and a Carly Thomas kill made it 19-11 Bears. The Sycamores closed to 23-20 when Karen Rivatto finished off the set with a kill and a service ace.
Back-to-back kills from Indiana State's Morgan Dall gave the Sycamores the first three-point lead for either side at 11-8 in the third set. The Bears closed to 12-11 when ISU ripped off a 7-0 run to lead 19-11 and pulled away to the 10-point win. The Sycamores hit .462 in the set.
Doolittle and Christine McCartney had two kills each during a key 5-0 MSU run in the fourth set that put the Bears ahead 15-8. The home team cut the gap to three points at 18-15 and 19-16 before Missouri State's 5-0 run gave the team all the cushion it needed. The Bears blasted 17 kills in the set and hit .367 to ISU's .179 figure.
Missouri State had little trouble building a 10-4 lead in the fifth set thanks in large part to three Indiana State service errors and another three attack errors before Ashley Mason's ace and a Kaitlin Jaeger kill made for the six point advantage. The Sycamores pulled to 10-7 when Brand had three kills and a block with Jaeger to account for MSU's next four points and a 14-8 lead, and an ISU attack error tilted the final in Missouri State's favor at 15-9.
Brand led MSU with 13 kills on .333 hitting, and Doolittle added 11 with a team-high five blocks. Thomas led the Bears with 11 digs to go with 44 assists and six kills on eight swings.
Missouri State hit .254 compared to .227 for the Sycamores and led 46-43 in digs. ISU held a 58-57 edge in kills and the teams recorded nine blocks each.
The Bears face Illinois State (12-4, 5-0) at 7 p.m. Saturday in Normal. The Redbirds hosted fellow league-leader Wichita State Friday.
