SPRINGFIELD – Visiting Drake outlasted Missouri State in a five-set marathon Saturday evening at Hammons Student Center, topping the Bears by set scores of 22-25, 25-18, 27-25, 29-31, 15-13.
 
Missouri State celebrated its five-member senior class in the penultimate home match of the season, with the four seniors who played in the match all posting big numbers.
 
Morgan Sprague dished out a career-high 59 assists, Maddy Bushnell hit .316 with a season-best 17 kills, Iva Halacheva had 10 kills, and Kate Owen's season-high 27 digs moved her past Teagan Polcovich into the No. 7 spot on MSU's career list.
 
Despite the loss, the Bears (11-18, 5-12 Missouri Valley Conference) remained in a three-way tie with Evansville and Belmont for the final spot in the MVC Tournament. The Bears host Southern Illinois at 4 p.m. Wednesday, needing a win and a UE loss to make the field.
 
Freshman Rilynn Finley led MSU with 20 kills to give her 342 on the year, tying Kathy Crotty for fourth-most all-time among Missouri State freshmen. Fellow rookie Lexi Weinberg notched her first double-double with career bests in both kills (15) and digs (12).
 
Bushnell, Finley and Weinberg had five kills each to help the Bears win the opening set, and Drake (20-8, 16-1) jumped ahead 11-4 in the second and held that margin to even the contest.
 
The third set had 13 ties and six lead changes, and Drake used its 22^nd and 23^rd kills of the period to grab the two-point win.
 
The fourth set was even wilder with 14 ties and seven lead changes. The Bears fought off five match points to stay alive, the final two on Bushnell kills for ties at 28 and 29. Finley scored for 30-29 and a block by Bushnell and Sprague forced the fifth period.
 
Drake hit .312 in the final set with 12 kills to complete the win with less drama than the prior two periods.
 
The Bulldogs hit .254 compared to .174 for the Bears and owned an 80-69 lead in kills. MoState tied a season high with 107 digs.