CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — For the second consecutive night, Missouri State came out on top of a meeting between unbeaten teams in Missouri Valley Conference play, this time earning a 3-1 win at 20th-ranked UNI inside the McLeod Center for the Bears’ second top-20 road victory of the season.
A night after a grueling five-set win at Drake, the Bears (16-5, 8-0) kept their winning streaks intact and took over sole possession of first place in the MVC standings by set scores 25-23, 29-27, 20-25 and 25-22 for their fourth win over a top-20 opponent in the last two seasons.
Off to an 8-0 start in the MVC for the fifth time in school history and first since 2009, Missouri State has now posted a winning streak of nine matches or longer in three consecutive seasons, while extending its school-record MVC win streak to 24 matches and its NCAA-best road streak to 18 straight wins.
Senior All-American Lily Johnson took over when the Bears needed her most, hitting 12 of her match-high 22 kills in the fourth set.
With the momentum squarely in UNI’s (17-5, 7-1) favor after a third-set win and 5-1 start to the fourth period, the Bears took the lead for good at 10-9 on a Lynsey Wright ace during what proved to be a 9-1 run that included five kills from Johnson and ended with MSU ahead 16-10. The Panthers closed to 19-17 when a service error followed by three consecutive Johnson kills gave the Bears a 23-17 lead. UNI spoiled three match points before Johnson sealed the win with another kill.
Missouri State trailed at only 1-0 in the first set and hit .343 in the period, led by Aubrey Cheffey’s six kills on nine swings on the way 14 kills in the match, including the winner for 25-23 after the Panthers spoiled a pair of set point chances.
The Bears led 22-15 in the second set when the home team rattled off a 7-0 run for a 22-22 tie. UNI eventually earned a set point opportunity at 25-24 that was met by back-to-back Wright kills, and MSU converted on its fourth set point for the 29-27 win. The third set included seven lead changes and 14 ties, with UNI pulling away from a 19-19 score with a 5-0 run to extend the match.
Wright added 11 kills for the Bears, who hit .232 in the match compared to .218 for UNI, while each team had 64 kills and two aces. UNI held a 93-91 lead in digs and 9-7 advantage in blocks. Emily Butters scooped 23 digs to pass Susan Ruch for third on MSU’s career list, while Johnson added 18 and Daniele Messa had 16 to go with 31 assists. Emelie Orlando added 24 assists and Wright had a match-high five blocks.
The Bears return home Oct. 20 for a 7 p.m. match against Bradley (8-15, 1-8).
