TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Thanks to hitting percentages above .300 in three of four sets Friday evening, Missouri State picked up a 3-1 (28-26, 15-25, 25-19, 25-14) Missouri Valley Conference victory at Indiana State.
 
The Bears (8-12, 2-6 MVC) got big offensive performances from Maddy Bushnell (13 kills, .542 hitting), Rilynn Finley (16 kills) and Iva Halacheva (15 kills, .444 hitting) to pile up 58 kills in the contest on a .287 attack efficiency, their second-highest mark of the season.
 
The Bears overcame a 20-13 deficit to claim the opening set, including a 5-0 run to gain their first lead at 24-23. Halacheva had four kills and three blocks after 20-13, while Bushnell had kills for the Bears' final three points to help MoState eventually capitalize on its fourth set point opportunity with its 19^th kill of the set.
 
The second set was all ISU (3-16, 0-7) thanks to an early 12-1 run, and the Sycamores hit .382 with 16 kills.
 
MoState returned the favor in the third, hitting .462 with 14 kills and two errors. The Bears jumped ahead 11-5 before ISU closed to 15-14. Seven side outs followed, and a review gave Morgan Sprague a kill and the Bears a 20-17 lead. MSU closed a 4-0 run to retake the match lead at 2-1.
 
It was more of the same in the fourth set with the Bears jumping out to a 14-4 lead and hitting .353 as a team. Bushnell and Finley led the way with five kills apiece to help MoState run away with the clinching set.
 
Defensively, MSU added 63 digs to its NCAA-leading total, with Aniya Joseph's 18 establishing a career high for the freshman. Kate Owen also reached double figures with 10 digs, Sprague handed out 43 assists and Neele'ge Sims had a season-high six blocks.
     
The Bears visit Evansville (2-16, 1-5) at 5 p.m Saturday.