SPRINGFIELD — Missouri State strengthened its hold of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference volleyball standings Saturday with a 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-22) win over UNI at Hammons Student Center. The Bears improved to 19-7 overall and 10-2 in MVC play with their 10th consecutive win, the team’s longest streak since 2007, while Panthers fell to 18-8 and 9-4 in league matches.
Missouri State picked apart one of the nation’s best defenses by hitting .265 and accumulating 63 kills, and held a 78-71 lead in total digs against a Panther club that leads the nation in that category. It was another milestone night for All-American Lily Johnson, who finished with 21 kills and 15 digs. The junior broke her own school record with her 37th straight match with at least 10 kills, and also became the 23rd player in school history with 1,000 career digs and the sixth to do so with at least 1,000 career kills.
Lauren Boone added a career-high 15 kills on .500 hitting, and Cambree Villarreal finished with 11 kills. Emily Butters scooped a season-high 26 digs, and Daniele Messa had 52 assists and 16 digs.
The winning team in each set never trailed, as UNI held a 3-6 point lead for the duration of the first period after going ahead 11-5 on its third early block. Boone had a block and a kill in MSU’s 3-0 start to the second set, and Johnson had nine kills as the Bears hit .341 as a team to even the match.
The third and fourth sets were carbon copies of one another, with the Bears opening up substantial leads and holding off late Panther rallies. MSU got off to a 3-0 start in the third, led 12-5 on three consecutive Lynsey Wright kills, and led 17-8 before UNI closed to 23-21. House countered with a kill and paired with Boone for the winning block.
In the fourth, Villarreal made it 11-4 with a kill, and Johnson’s 20th winner put MSU ahead 15-7. UNI responded with a 5-0 run, and Boone’s kill made it 23-16 before the Panthers pulled within a point at 23-22. Boone scored again for 24-22 and a UNI attack error ended the match.
The Bears return to action Saturday with a 7 p.m. match at Bradley.
