PEORIA, Ill. – For the seventh time in 13 Missouri Valley Conference matches Missouri State went to a deciding fifth set Saturday evening at Bradley, but the Braves dropped the Bears to 1-6 in those contests with a 23-25, 26-24, 25-17, 22-25, 15-12 victory inside Renaissance Coliseum.

The Bradley offense piled up 70 kills and placed five players in double figures, leading the Bears by nine in that category to go with an 11-7 edge in aces and 15-5 margin in blocks.

Deja Bickers had a career-high 19 kills for Missouri State (8-17, 5-8 MVC) and Lindsay Lahr and Azyah Green had 10 apiece, and the night ended with the Bears, Braves (9-16, 5-8) and Murray State in a three-way tie for seventh in the league standings with five matches to play before the eight-team MVC Tournament.

Missouri State never trailed after taking a 13-12 lead in the opening set, though Bradley tied the score five times, the last at 23-all. From there, a BU attack error and block by Green and Morgan Sprague gave MSU the win.

The Bears led 24-22 in the second before the Braves closed on a 4-0 run, and were up 10-6 in the third, the first four-point lead either way in the match, only to see Bradley flip the script with an 8-0 run. The Braves hit .341 in both the second and third periods and combined for 37 kills in the two wins.

Bradley led 20-12 in the fourth set when Missouri State made a furious comeback that culminated with a 7-0 run to close out the set. Jaycee Fixsen and Green had two kills each in the final push, and Green and Lucca Dunser teamed up for the winning block.

The Bears nearly matched that comeback in the fifth with a 4-0 run from a 13-8 Bradley lead, but the Braves halted the momentum to score the final two points for the win.

Kate Owen had 22 digs for MSU and Teagan Polcovich added 17. Sprague finished with 49 assists and three aces, and Green tallied four blocks.

The Bears are back home Nov. 4 and 5 to take on Evansville and Indiana State. Tickets are $1 for Saturday's match with ISU.