CARBONDALE, Ill. – Missouri State rallied from a 2-1 set deficit at Southern Illinois Saturday afternoon to claim a 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 17-25, 25-15, 15-12) victory over the Salukis and win its Missouri Valley Conference volleyball opener for the first time since 2017.

The Bears (5-1, 1-0) evened the match with a dominant fourth set performance and closed on a 4-0 run after trailing 12-11 in the fifth, getting double-doubles from Brooklyn Cink and Amelia Flynn and 28 digs from Teagan Polcovich, the most for an MSU freshman since all-time digs leader Emily Butters in November 2015. Azyah Green added a season-high 10 kills on .286 hitting.

"It was a gutsy win by our team," head coach Steven McRoberts said after his first MVC match. "Azyah had a huge match offensively, and Brooklyn and Amelia had double-doubles and scored in some crucial moments. Teagan keeps playing well as libero, and Reagan (Casey) came in and gave us a big lift, especially blocking, in the fourth and fifth sets."

Trailing 2-1 in the match after the Salukis (1-2, 0-1) hit a combined .320 to win the second and third sets, the Bears used a 7-0 run to turn a 9-6 lead into a 16-6 margin in the fourth, coasting to victory to force a deciding fifth period.

The fifth set saw seven ties and three lead changes, the last of each coming when the Bears closed the match on a 4-0 run after trailing 12-11. A pair of SIU attack errors gave MSU the lead, and Cink and Green closed it out with back-to-back kills.

Missouri State took the first set by holding SIU to .024 hitting, using a 5-0 run to lead 12-8 and another to pull away from 20-18.

"It's a quick turnaround to play them again Tuesday," McRoberts added. "Every win on the road is huge and we will need to play better to get a win at our place."

Flynn's 15 kills and 19 digs marked her sixth consecutive double-double and 10th in 11 matches dating to last season, while Cink reached double figures in both categories for the fourth straight match with 15 kills and 12 digs. Flynn added three aces and Cink served a pair.

Sophomore Kennedee Anderson handed out a career-high 47 assists. Casey and Cink had four blocks each to help MSU to an 8-5 lead in that category.

The Salukis make the return trip to Springfield for a 3 p.m. match on Tues., Feb. 2 at Hammons Student Center.