SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State improved to 4-0 when going the distance this season with a dominant fifth set Friday for a 3-2 Missouri Valley Conference victory against UNI at Hammons Student Center.

MSU's Brooklyn Cink went 5-for-5 on the attack in the final set, Manuela Ibarguen had a career-high 18 kills, and Amelia Flynn added 16 as the Bears (12-5, 3-2 MVC) won by scores of 25-23, 17-25, 25-17, 15-25, 15-11.

"When Brooklyn gets going we're a different team," said head coach Steven McRoberts after the match. "It allows us to have attackers at both pins, because Manuela and Amelia both produced with a lot of kills tonight. To have that third attacker step up in the fifth helped a lot because she saw one-on-ones and took advantage of it."

After seeing UNI (6-12, 1-4) close the fourth set on a 15-5 run, the Bears seized back momentum in the fifth with freshmen Maddy Bushnell and Morgan Sprague teaming up for two blocks in an 8-2 run for an 8-4 advantage. UNI closed to 11-10 when Cink answered with a kill before adding her final two winners for MSU's 14th and 15th points of the set.

The first set included 14 ties and five lead changes, with a 14-11 UNI advantage the largest for either side. Bushnell hit kills for leads of 23-22 and 24-23 and Flynn capped it with another for the two-point win.

The Panthers hit .400 with 20 kills in the second set to even the match, and the Bears returned the favor in the third, jumping ahead 5-1 and holding the Panthers to eight kills as a team.

UNI held leads in every statistical category except aces, which Missouri State led 9-4 thanks to a career-high four from Kate Owen, who also scooped a team-high 18 digs. Ibarguen added 14 digs for the double-double, Sprague handed out 46 assists, and Azyah Green had a team-high five blocks.

The Bears conclude the weekend at 5 p.m. Saturday against Drake (8-5, 3-2). The Bulldogs won 3-2 at Southern Illinois on Friday.