MURRAY, Ky. – Missouri State served 14 aces at Murray State Friday evening, including eight from freshman Neele'ge' Sims, to pick up its third straight road victory and climb in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 3-1 (19-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-21) win.

Sims' eight aces were the most by a Bear since Katelyn Panzau served that many against Bradley on Sept. 22, 2006. Additionally, eight aces are the most by an MVC player this season, tied for the fourth-most in a match nationally and tied with Long Island's Sibana Gonzalez for the most by a freshman in NCAA Division I.

The Bears' 14 aces as a team were the most since 2007, helping the club improve to 13-13 overall and 7-7 in league play, good for a three-way tie with Murray State and Southern Illinois in the Valley standings and two games clear of Belmont for the final spot in the conference tournament. The Bears visit Belmont at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Missouri State jumped ahead to leads of at least 4-1 in each set and only stumbled in the first thanks in large part to a plus-10 advantage in kills for the Racers in the opening period.

Deja Bickers had a block and three kills in an 8-1 start to the second set, Murray State pulled even at 13, and the Bears responded with a 5-0 run to even the match.

The final two sets continued the wild momentum swings. After the Racers grabbed a 20-15 lead in the third, the Bears got three aces from Sims in a 6-0 run to earn set point at 24-22, and got the win on Maddy Bushnell's fifth kill of the set.

Missouri State bolted to a 12-5 lead in the fourth, but the Racers charged back and led 20-16 late in the proceedings. The Bears countered with two blocks, five kills and an ace in an 8-0 to put the match away.

Bickers led offense with 17 kills on .289 hitting and Bushnell hit .316 with 14 winners. Morgan Sprague had 43 assists and 18 digs, while Teagan Polcovich added 29 digs. Green had six blocks, and Sprague and Brooke Eslinger served two aces each.
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