SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State scored the final 10 points of a wild five-set victory over visiting UIC Friday at Hammons Student Center, rallying from a 10-5 deficit in the fifth set after UIC won both the third and fourth to force a decisive final period.

The Bears moved to 8-4 at home on the season and bumped their overall record to 10-12 with a 4-6 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play, coming out on top of the two-hour, 41-minute contest by set scores of 25-21, 25-20, 21-25, 24-26, 15-10.

Missouri State never trailed in either of the first two sets, and the teams then combined for 26 ties and 12 lead changes in sets three and four.

The Bears even held a match point in the fourth after rallying from 23-21 down to lead 24-23, only to see an attack error, UIC kill and service ace allow the Flames (13-10, 4-6) to force a fifth set.

UIC took control from the start in the fifth, grabbing the 10-5 lead before its 13th service error put the Bears back on serve trailing 10-6. Teagan Polcovich served out the match for the Bears, recording two aces in the closing stretch as MoState's momentum snowballed all the way to Neele'ge' Sims' kill to end end it, giving the freshman a stellar 7-0-9 attacking line for the match.

Maddy Bushnell led the Bears with 17 kills, and five players finished with seven or more. Sims added five blocks as MSU recorded 12 stuffs to equal a season high.

Polcovich had a match-high 21 digs and moved up three more spots on the Bears' career list to eighth place with 1,310 now in her time at MoState. Morgan Sprague tied her season high with 43 assists and added 13 digs for the double-double.    

The Bears host Valparaiso at 5 p.m. Saturday.