SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State and Liberty combined for 145 kills and 183 digs over the course of two hours and 43 minutes Friday evening, with the visiting Flames claiming a 3-2 (25-23, 28-26, 20-25, 21-25, 15-8) victory at Hammons Student Center.
 
The Bears (10-14, 5-8 Conference USA) had numerous individuals establish season or career highs in the match, led by Brooke Eslinger's 34 digs, the 10^th-highest single-match total in program history.
 
Peyton McKee (19) and Lizanyela Lopez (11) each tied their career high for kills, while Lexi Weinberg matched her blocking record with six stuffs along with 11 kills and no errors. Hannah Gardner had career bests of 33 assists and 16 digs. The Bears tallied 12 blocks as a team, their ninth match in double figures this season.
 
Missouri State found itself in a 2-0 hole after a pair of narrow losses. Beginning with an 18-17 deficit in the first set, the Bears served for the tie seven times but never equalized in the 25-23 setback. Then in the second, Liberty (19-7, 7-6) used a 4-0 run to turn a 24-21 deficit into a 25-24 lead and eventually won 28-26.
 
MoState hit .333 in the third set and capitalized on a 19-11 lead after five players tallied multiple kills in the period, then went from trailing 12-6 to a 16-14 lead in the fourth while holding the Flames to a .106 attack efficiency to force a fifth set.
 
In the deciding period, Liberty's offense returned with 11 kills to give the Flames 82 on the night, while the Bears sputtered with just three kills and four errors.
 
MSU hit .249 compared to .239 for Liberty but had 19 fewer kills. Jenna Walters had 11 kills to give MSU four players in double figures.
 
Carly O'Brien had 28 kills and 20 digs for the Flames.
 
The teams conclude their series at 1 p.m. Saturday on Senior Day at Missouri State.