NORMAL, Ill. -- Missouri State's volleyball team played Illinois State close in all three sets Saturday evening, but fell just short in each in a 25-23, 25-21, 26-24 loss to the Redbirds in Missouri Valley Conference action.

The Bears fell to 11-12 overall and 4-6 in league play, while ISU improved to 18-5 and held on to second place with a 10-1 Valley mark.

Senior Emily Butters had 23 digs for the Bears, moving past 2,300 in her record-setting career with her 48th match of 20 or more. Freshman Chloe Rear had 36 assists and 15 digs for her seventh double-double of the season, and Aubrey Cheffey had a team-high 12 kills on .258 hitting.

Missouri State led for the majority of the first set before the Redbirds rallied late for the win. Cheffey scored on her first five swings, the fifth resulting in a 15-13 lead, and added a block several points later for a 20-17 advantage. Illinois State countered with a 7-1 run to earn set point at 24-21, Amelia Flynn landed consecutive kills to keep the Bears alive, but ISU's third try resulted in its 20th kill of the set.

The Bears fell behind 5-0 and 15-5 in the second before giving the Redbirds a scare with an 8-1 run to close to 16-13. ISU recovered with a 3-0 spurt for a 19-13 lead, and kept the six-point margin until two errors followed by a Laynie Dake kill pulled the Bears to 23-20. The teams then traded side outs three times to the 25-21 final.

MSU began the third set on a 3-0 run and led by as many as five points at 12-7 and 13-8. The Redbirds used a 5-0 spurt to even the score, and tied it three more times before gaining their first lead of the period at 19-18. ISU grew the margin to 23-19 before Cheffey connected on three straight kills for a 23-22 deficit. The Redbirds responded with a kill for match point, Dake and Cambree Villarreal followed with winners for 24-all, but ISU had the answer with two more kills for the win.

Illinois State owned leads in kills (48-43) and hitting percentage (.213-.168), while the Bears had a 71-68 lead in digs. Both teams had five blocks, and freshman Leah Vokolek served two of MSU's four aces.

The Bears continue their four-match road trip on Oct. 27 with a 7 p.m. match at Southern Illinois.