SPRINGFIELD, Mo. ? Freshman Alex Starks (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) and Melissa Collins (Manchester, Mo./Parkway South) tied for team-high honors with eight kills, but Bradley hit .095 as a team and Missouri State hit .230 and served up 14 aces as the Bears top the Braves in three games Saturday in Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball action.  Game scores in favor of the Bears were 30-16, 30-18, 30-24.

A shorthanded Braves squad never got on track offensively in the match and suffered a three-game loss to Missouri State, falling to 1-11 overall and 0-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play.  Starter Katrina Goncher (Batavia, Ill./Aurora Rosary) missed her fourth consecutive match after suffering an injury last week.

Bradley hit .241 in the first game, but the Bears countered with a .389 attack percentage in the opening game and outscored the Braves 22-9 to start the frame. 

Missouri State (11-2 overall, 2-0 MVC) cooled down slightly in the second game, hitting .293, but the Bears defense also cooled Bradley's attack, limiting the Braves to a .114 hitting percentage in a 30-18 MSU win.  Just like game one, the Bears built a big lead early on, racing out to a 19-9 lead.

Neither team had much success offensively in the third game, which featured 10 ties and five lead changes.  After Missouri State led from start to finish in games one and two, the Braves kept pace with the Bears in the early going and took a 16-14 lead on a Missouri State attack error.  Missouri State responded with a 9-2 run to take a 23-18 lead, but Bradley pulled back to within two points at 23-21.  The Bears took control of the game with a 5-1 spurt to take a 28-22 lead and put the game out of reach.

Starks and Collins were the only Bradley players to record more than five kills.  Junior setter Sam Black (Atalissa, Iowa/West Liberty) posted her second consecutive double-double and team leading fourth of the year with 17 assists and 11 digs.  Sophomore Kaitlyn Comiskey (Crystal Lake, Ill./South) was also in double figures with 11 digs.

Bradley returns to action Friday, Sept. 21 against Drake at 7 p.m. at Robertson Memorial Field House.