NORMAL, Ill. – Missouri State lost in fewer than five sets for the first time this season Sunday afternoon, falling 25-20, 26-24, 25-21 at Illinois State inside Redbird Arena.

The Bears (12-4, 8-3 Missouri Valley Conference) remained in first place by percentage points over the Redbirds (8-5, 6-3) ahead of tomorrow's 4 p.m. rematch, but struggled offensively Sunday to a .115 attack efficiency and no players had more than seven kills.

"I thought Illinois State played well today and we definitely need to raise our level of play when competing against the top teams in this league," said MSU head coach Steven McRoberts. "We will regroup and prepare to do our best for our Monday rematch tomorrow."

Missouri State fell behind 7-2 in the first set and never recovered, closing the gap to two points on three occasions but no less.

A back-and-forth second set saw the Bears grab a late lead at 19-18 following a 4-0 run, rally from a pair of two-point deficits for ties at 21 and 23, then get a kill from Lindsay Lahr to fend off set point before the Redbirds escaped with a kill and MSU error for the 26-24 win after the teams combined for 21 errors and each hit below .050 in the period.

Illinois State used a 6-1 run to pull away from a 10-10 tie in the third and the Bears got as close as 22-21 before the Redbirds scored the final three points, hitting .286 with 20 kills in the set to raise their efficiency to .206 in the match with a 50-31 advantage in total kills.

Missouri State got solid defensive performances from Teagan Polcovich with 22 digs, her career high for a three-set match, and Azyah Green, whose seven blocks gave her 24 in her last three contests. Brooklyn Cink's seven kills were team high for MSU.