SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State was a point away from a 2-0 lead on Southern Illinois Monday at Hammons Student Center, but the Salukis rallied to claim the second set and then hit .360 over the final two periods to claim a 3-1 victory over the Bears.

Set scores in favor of the Salukis (12-4, 4-1 Missouri Valley Conference) were 21-25, 26-24 25-22, 25-16.

Both Maddy Bushnell and Breanah Rives collected four kills without an error in the opening set as the Bears hit .333 with 16 kills as a unit to take the early lead.

MoState (8-9, 2-3) rallied from a 13-5 deficit in the second period to gain set point at 24-23 on a Rives kill, only to see the Salukis answer with two kills before an error handed SIU the set.

Despite the Salukis hitting .361 with 17 kills in the third, it took a late 6-0 run for the visitors to escape with the win after Missouri State led 22-19. Then it was all SIU in the fourth with 18 kills on .359 hitting, with an early 8-0 run dealing the big blow.

Bushnell and Rives had 13 kills each for the Bears, while Teagan Polcovich led the defense with 18 digs. Morgan Sprague added a double-double with 41 assists and 14 digs, and Katie Wemhoener served three aces.

Each side had six blocks and five aces, the Bears led 68-65 in total digs, while SIU had 11 more kills and one more attack error, amounting to the plus-10 lead in total points for the Salukis.

The Bears stay at home this weekend for matches with Belmont at 6 p.m. Friday and Murray State at 5 p.m. Saturday.