SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Bradley opened its match at Missouri Valley Conference rival Missouri State with a 27-25 victory, but the Bears responded with wins in the next three sets to down the Braves and claim the match 25-27, 25-17, 25-16, 25-21 Friday night at the Hammons Student Center.

The Braves (4-17 overall, 0-8 MVC) won a set against Missouri State for the first time since the 2005 season with a 27-25 win in the opener. The first set victory also marked the first time Bradley claimed a set in a road match in the series with the Bears since the 2002 campaign.

The first set was tight throughout until the Braves broke open a 19-19 tie with a 5-1 spurt which was capped by a Megan Schmidt (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) kill to give Bradley a 24-20 lead. The Bears would fight back with four consecutive points to tie the score again. After the teams traded points, sophomore Melissa Collins (Manchester, Mo./Parkway South) notched a kill to put BU back in front 26-25 and Schmidt and senior Sam Black (Atalissa, Iowa/West Liberty) combined for a block to close out the 27-25 win.

Missouri State (14-7 overall, 5-3 MVC) pulled away mid-way through the second set en route to a 25-17 win to even the match at one set each. The Bears held a 17-15 advantage when Missouri State would use an 8-2 run to finish out the set. Kelley Michnowicz tallied a block assist and three consecutive kills to highlight the MSU run.

The Bears scored the final six points of the third set to post a 25-16 victory. Sara Staubach opened the decisive run with a kill and Missouri State's Cara Hackman followed with a service ace. Addie Foley added a kill after a Bradley attack error to push the MSU lead to 23-16. A Missouri State block gave the Bears set point and Staubach ended the run with another kill to put the finishing touches on a 25-16 Missouri State win.

Bradley threatened to even the match in the fourth set, but the Bears would again use a late spurt to close out the match. Missouri State led 21-18 before Collins would help the Braves pull to within one point (22-21) with three of her team-best 12 kills. Missouri State's Calli Norman would respond with three consecutive kills as the Bears would claim their 16th consecutive match in the all-time series.

Collins led the Braves offensive attack with 12 kills, while Schmidt and junior Amy Reichel (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) each added 10 kills. Black finished with 43 assists and 10 digs as she became the sixth player in program history with 2,500 career assists. Freshman Rachelle Dejean (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) tied for match-high honors with 16 digs to help lead Bradley's defensive efforts.

Addie Foley tallied a match-high 18 kills to lead Missouri State to go along with her 10 digs. Norman added 14 kills and eight blocks.

The Braves return to action Saturday when they play 14th-ranked Wichita State at 7 p.m. in Wichita, Kan.