SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Sycamores fought back from an 0-2 start at Missouri State, but ultimately the Bears spoiled ISU's comeback attempt in a five-set thriller on Friday.
 
Freshmen Chloe Mason and Taylor Shelton both ended their evening with double-doubles. Mason, the Sycamore setter, tallied 23 assists and 16 digs while Shelton recorded 11 kills to go along with 15 digs.
 
Four Sycamores recorded double-digit kills on Friday evening including Cassie Kawa (10), Gretchen Kuckkan (13), Shelton (11) and Nikkie White (12). ISU hit .208 for the match with 57 kills.
 
Missouri State hit .203 for the match while also earning 71 kills. The Bears also had four athletes record over 10 kills and were led by Laynie Dake who earned 17.
 
Splitting the workload with Mason in the assist category, Mary Hannah Lewis added 21 assists of her own to give the Trees 55 total.
 
Defensively, ISU finished the the night with more digs and blocks than MSU by margins of 74-72 and 12-8, respectively. Libero Melina Tedrow was the leader with 20 digs while the Bears got 17 digs each from Gerri Idos and Chloe Rear.
 
The blue and white dominated the net for most of the match, led by Kawa with six block assists. Madeline Williams chipped in five blocks on the evening and freshman Kylie Newby posted four block assists.
 
Indiana State continues its weekend road swing on Saturday when they faceoff with Southern Illinois at 6 p.m. ET.
 
Set One - Missouri State 27, Indiana State 25

• Kuckkan and White both led the offensive effort with 4 kills each.
• The Sycamores hit .275 for the set with 15 kills compared to MSU's 17 kills and .250 hitting.
• Tedrow tallied the most digs for ISU, ending the frame with five.

 
Set Two - Missouri State 25, Indiana State 22

• Offensively, Kuckkan added five more kills to her total.
• The Bears used strong offense to help claim victory, hitting .293 on the set.
• Shelton recorded five digs in the set to lead the blue and white.

 
Set Three - Indiana State 25, Missouri State 20

• Indiana State used a late 4-0 run, which featured two services aces from Mason, to pull away from the Bears.
• Kawa and Newby continued to control the net, pushing their block total to five and four, respectively.
• Mason, Shelton and Tedrow all crossed the double-digit dig threshold during the frame.
• Missouri State held the edge in kills, 14-12.

 
Set Four - Indiana State 25, Missouri State 19

• The Sycamores defense was strong, holding Missouri State to .000 hitting.
• Mason and Shelton both solidified double-doubles for the evening in the frame.
• Tedrow added five more digs to her total.
• ISU recorded three more total blocks in the fourth set, pushing the total to 12 on the evening.

 
Set Five - Missouri State 15, Indiana State 9

• Missouri state weathered an ISU run that pulled the Sycamores to within one, answering with two separate 3-0 runs.
• ISU hit .222 with eight kills while Missouri State had their best set of the evening, hitting .500 with 10 kills and no errors.
• Lewis ended the frame with four assists to lead the Trees.

 
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