VALPARAISO, Ind. -- Missouri State wrapped up its four-match road trip in style Monday evening, holding Valparaiso to a .086 hitting percentage on the way to a 3-1 road victory.
The Bears, now 13-12 and 6-6 in Missouri Valley Conference play, won by set scores of 19-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-17. Valpo fell to 21-7 and 8-5 in league matches.
Senior
Cambree Villarreal led the Bears with 12 kills, while
Amelia Flynn and
Aubrey Cheffey added 11 apiece. Cheffey hit .385, and Flynn had 16 digs for her eighth double-double of the season.
Freshman
Chloe Rear threatened a triple-double with seven kills, 46 assists and eight digs, setting the Bears to a .247 attack efficiency.
Gerri Idos lifted career-high 16 digs,
Emily Butters also had 16 digs, and
MacKenzie Irwin had a team-high four blocks.
The Bears recovered from an initial 4-0 deficit in the first set to tie the score twice, but succumbed to a 7-1 Valpo run that resulted in a 15-9 deficit. After that, MSU got no closer than 19-17, as the Crusaders gained four total points at the service line in the period.
MSU never trailed in the second set, using a 6-0 run that included two kills and a block from Villarreal to build a 19-9 advantage. The Bears held Valpo to .020 hitting in the set thanks to 11 attack errors from the home team.
Missouri State owned a 15-10 lead midway through the third set before needing to rally late for the win. After the Crusaders took a 22-20 lead, the Bears ripped off a 4-0 run to earn set point, with Flynn and
Alyssa Doucette twice pairing for blocks. Valpo stopped the run with a kill, and Flynn answered with a winner for the victory.
The Bears took the lead for good at 2-1 in the fourth stanza, gradually growing the margin to as many as nine points at 19-10. Valpo added eight more attack errors and hit .024 in the final set.
MSU finished with leads of 56-48 in kills, 80-78 in digs and 9-5 in total blocks.
Missouri State returns home Nov. 2 and 3 for matches with Evansville and Indiana State. Both contests start at 7 p.m.