SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State was on the verge of upsetting first-place UNI Saturday evening before the Panthers fought off three consecutive MSU match points to rally for a 3-2 (25-11, 22-25, 25-22, 23-25, 17-15) victory at Hammons Student Center.

The Bears (11-10, 4-4 Missouri Valley Conference) rallied from a 19-15 deficit in the fourth set to force a deciding period, and carried that momentum to a 4-1 lead in the fifth.

UNI, which entered the match ranked one spot outside the AVCA Top 25 poll, took its first lead of the fifth at 11-10 after a 4-0 run, but the Bears answered with four straight points of their own to earn match point at 14-11. The Panthers (15-6, 9-0) countered with another 4-0 spurt to lead 15-14, and MSU tied it at 15-all before UNI's Karlie Taylor connected on back-to-back kills for the win.

The Panthers hit .433 in the first set for a comfortable win, and the Bears rallied from an 18-13 deficit in the second to even the match thanks to seven kills on 10 swings from Amelia Flynn. The rookie outside hitter finished with 25 kills in the match, one shy of the MSU freshman record she tied last week at Evansville.

The third set was a mirror image of the second, with UNI overcoming an 18-12 deficit to win, and the Bears flipped the script yet again with a late rally in the fourth.

Laynie Dake tied a career high with 11 kills, and Chloe Rear finished with 51 assists and 10 digs for the double-double. Emily Butters led all players with 24 digs and tied a career high with three aces, and MacKenzie Irwin and Alyssa Doucette recorded five blocks apiece.

The loss was Missouri State's first October defeat since Halloween 2015, a stretch of 20 consecutive wins in the month.

Missouri State begins a four-match road trip Oct. 19 at Bradley.