SPRINGFIELD – A 9-2 run in the fifth set propelled the Missouri State volleyball team past Valparaiso in a 3-2 (25-21, 16-25, 25-16, 18-25, 15-11) see-saw battle Saturday night at Hammons Student Center.

The Crusaders jumped to a 9-6 fifth-set lead, but a six-point MSU explosion sparked by an Amelia Flynn kill and four Valparaiso attack errors swung momentum back to the home club for good, as the Bears rode a 9-2 stretch to steal the victory.

Aided by four Crusader attack errors and a pair of service aces from Flynn, the Bears took a commanding 13-7 lead in the first set. Valparaiso gained ground on a 5-2 stretch to bring it within two, but MSU capped the set with four kills.

Valparaiso rattled off six-straight points on its way to a 10-4 edge to begin the second. MSU was able to close the lead to four, but the Crusaders pounded out another unanswered run to even the match, 1-1.

Both squads traded points to open the third set with a 6-6 deadlock, but a four-point MSU stretch ended with a Crusader timeout and the Bears seizing the 10-6 advantage. MSU never looked back, doubling Valparaiso in set kills and owning the match lead.

The Crusaders and Bears played tight in the fourth, matching each other with 13 kills apiece, but it was Valparaiso who rode a late 5-2 run to force the deciding set.

MSU finished with statistical leads of 60-48 in kills, 82-75 in digs and 12-9 in blocks. Chloe Rear's 13 kills and 21 assists signaled her 16^th double-double of the season.

Up next, MSU heads to Indiana for its last regular-season road tests, beginning with a stop at Evansville on Friday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m.