CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Missouri State's volleyball team opened its weekend road trip Friday evening with a 25-18, 25-13, 25-21 loss to Missouri Valley Conference leading UNI at the McLeod Center.

Freshman Amelia Flynn led the Bears (15-13, 8-7 MVC) with nine kills on .273 hitting, and Emily Butters had 15 digs as she inched closer to cracking the top 25 in NCAA history in that category.

Missouri State hit .222 or better in two of the three sets, but a sluggish second period dropped MSU's efficiency to .163 for the match compared to .327 for the Panthers (20-8, 14-1). UNI owned a 54-31 lead in kills and 50-32 edge in digs, while both teams had seven blocks.

The Bears began the match on a 6-0 run, only to be chased down by the Panthers and tied at 15-15. The score was tied twice more before a 6-0 UNI run put the set away at 23-17.

MSU jumped ahead 4-0 in the second set, only to watch UNI score eight unanswered for a 15-8 lead, which the Panthers extended from there. In third set, the Bears led as late as 16-15 after back-to-back Ashley Ophoven kills. UNI countered with a 5-0 run, and Missouri State pulled even at 21-all before the Panthers scored the final two points.

The Bears visit Drake (18-12, 6-9) at 7 p.m. Saturday. A win over the Bulldogs would secure MSU's spot in the MVC Tournament field.