In Friday night Missouri Valley Conference volleyball action, road teams swiped victories in three of four contests, highlighted by Indiana State's 3-2 win over Bradley, snapping a 43-match MVC road losing streak.  Wichita State took down Southern Illinois, 3-0, behind an Emily Stockman double-double (12 kills, 19 digs), while Missouri State stole a 3-1 decision from Evansville, where Bears senior Sara Staubach recorded her 1,000th career kill.  No. 25 UNI was the lone team to take advantage of its home court advantage, downing Illinois State, 3-0, for the Panthers' 21st consecutive victory.

Indiana State 3, Bradley 2
INS (7-21, 3-11 MVC); BU (9-18, 0-13 MVC)

PEORIA, Ill.  - Sycamore junior Ana Maira Charun's kill off a set from sophomore Shelbi Fouty sealed the deal as the Indiana State Sycamores picked up perhaps their best win of the season, turning back the Bradley Braves 3-2 (22-25, 18-25, 25-22, 25-19, 18-16) in front of 271 fans at the Markin Center Friday. It was the first time in five years that Indiana State has won a game in Peoria.
 
The win marked the first time that Indiana State has won a road game in the Missouri Valley Conference since a 3-1 win over Southern Illinois during the 2004 season (a streak of 43 straight Valley road setbacks).
 
The win also marked the first time that the Sycamores have swept a conference opponent in five years. (ISU swept Bradley, Drake and Southern Illinois during the 2004 season). The Sycamores swept the Braves 3-0 on the ISU Court on Oct. 10.
 
The win also snapped a pair of other streaks. The Sycamores had lost seven straight games since beating Bradley on Oct. 10 and had lost 18 straight road games dating back to a 3-0 win over Chicago State last year.
 
The win also gives Indiana State three conference victories, the most for the Sycamores since 2004, as ISU improved to 7-21 on the season and 3-11 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
Sycamore sophomore Kiya James moved into fifth place in the all-time single season dig list for Indiana State with a season and career high 30 digs against the Braves. James now has 456 digs this season, just one behind Cheryl Berg who had 457 digs during the 1999 season. The 30 digs was also the 10th best single game performance by a Sycamore in school history.
 
Sycamore senior Whitney Fromm had a double-double with a season high 55 assists and a season high 16 digs. Senior Jodilynne Stoker also had a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs while Charun and freshman Morgan Dall had 13 kills each.
 
Indiana State did not get off to a very good start as they dropped the first two sets of the game. The opening set was tied five times but the Sycamores were never able to get in front. The last tie came at 14-all after ISU had rallied from down two on a kill by sophomore Stacy Qualizza and a Bradley error. The Braves came back to score three straight points and fought off a pair of Sycamore rallies down the stretch to win the opener 25-22.
 
The second set started off just as tight as the first set with four ties and three lead changes early on. The last tie came after ISU had taken a 5-4 lead on a service ace by Stephanie Volden. The Braves scored the next point to tie the set and then scored nine of the next 10 points to take a commanding 13-6 lead. Bradley held onto the lead and took a 2-0 lead in the game with a 25-18 victory in the third set.
 
The momentum began to change in the third set but it took a determined effort by the Sycamores to keep the game going. The Braves were able to build an 18-15 lead ahead of an Indiana State timeout but Bradley was unable to hold onto the advantage as play resumed.
 
A Qualizza kill and four Bradley errors put ISU in front 20-18 and the Sycamores would not give up the advantage the rest of the set. Bradley fought back to tie the set at 20 but a kill by freshman Auriel Armstrong followed by a block by Charun and Armstrong put ISU back up by two. Bradley came back to tie the set at 22 but two kills by Stoker and a set winning service ace by Charun gave ISU a 25-22 victory.
 
Bradley had hopes of closing out the game in the fourth set and took a 12-10 lead off an Indiana State error. The Sycamores fought back and took the lead for good at 15-14 on a Stoker kill. A Stoker service ace along with kills by Qualizza and Charun gave ISU a 19-14 lead and the Sycamores cruised to a 25-19 set win and even the game at two-sets each.
 
The decisive fifth set was a heart stopper from the first serve. The Sycamores took the early advantage on a Charun kill but Indiana State could not hold onto the lead. Bradley rallied and led twice, at 4-3 and again at 5-4, but the Sycamores were able to come back and had a 12-8 lead off a block by Dall and Armstrong.
 
The Sycamores extended their lead to 14-9 on a Bradley error but could not close the deal. The Braves held off set and game point five straight times to even the set at 14-all. Indiana State kept the advantage on a Stoker kill but the Braves held off ISU for the sixth time, tying the set at 15. Stoker put ISU back in front with a kill with Bradley coming back a seventh time to tie the set at 16. A Bradley error gave Indiana State their eighth chance at the win and this time they cashed in on a kill by Charun.
 

No. 25 Northern Iowa 3, Illinois State 0
UNI (23-2, 13-0 MVC); ILS (10-15, 5-9 MVC)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The 25th-ranked University of Northern Iowa volleyball team swept Illinois State 3-0 in Missouri Valley Conference action to win its 21st straight match Friday night in the McLeod Center. The Panthers won the match by scores of 25-15, 25-16 and 25-11.

Shannon Aschoff led the Panthers, (23-2, 13-0 MVC) with 13 kills, and Amy Braun added 10. Bre Payton finished with eight kills and no errors, hitting .667 in the match. Payton also led the Panthers with 27 assists and 13 digs. Krista DeGeest tallied four blocks for UNI.

The Panthers held the Redbirds (10-15, 5-9 MVC) to .028 hitting in the match. UNI hit .306 in the contest. UNI held ISU to -.036 hitting in the first set on the way to a 25-16 win.

In the second set, he Panthers used a 10-3 run to turn a 12-12 tie into a 22-15 Panther advantage. UNI followed an ISU point with three straight to take the set, 25-16.

The Panthers jumped out to an early 11-4 lead and never looked back in the third set. With the Panthers leading 21-11, Ellie Blankenship notched three straight service aces to give UNI a 24-11 lead. Michelle Burow and Megan Lehman secured a block on the next point to give the Panthers the 25-11 set win and seal the match for UNI.

The 21-match win streak matches a streak by the 2001 team that extended through the end of the regular season to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.


Wichita State 3, Southern Illinois
WSU (19-4, 10-3 MVC); SIU (17-8, 6-8 MVC)

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Wichita State used a double-double by Emily Stockman to earn a sweep of Southern Illinois.  The Shockers (19-4, 10-3) won by scores of 29-27, 25-16 and 25-20.

Stockman collected 12 kills and 19 digs in the match, while Kim Wadsworth also added 12 kills.  Mary Elizabeth Hooper had 42 assists and Melissa Granville had 17 digs.

The first set was very competitive as it went back-and-forth until a kill by Amanda Backes put the Shocks up 13-10.  The Salukis fought back to tie the score at 20 and the teams traded points until a kill by Emily Stockman gave WSU a 29-27 win.

Three Shocker blocks helped WSU to a 10-3 lead in the second set and the Shockers continued to cruise as a back-to-back kills by Kim Wadsworth put WSU up 16-4.  SIU made a late run cutting the lead to 19-14, but the Shockers finished the set on a 6-2 run to win 25-16.

The teams raced out to a 12-12 tie in the third set and it continued to go back and forth until a Saluki hitting error gave WSU a 20-17 lead.  A SIU block pulled the Salukis to within 21-20, but a kill by Kim Wadsworth and a block by Stockman and Katie Niggemeyer gave WSU a 23-20 advantage.  A Stockman kill and a block by Mary Elizabeth Hooper and Niggemeyer finished off the set for a 25-20 win.


Missouri State 3, Evansville 1
MSU (18-7, 11-2); UE (13-13, 6-8 MVC)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Missouri State senior outside hitter Sara Staubach became the 16th player in school history with 1,000 career kills as the volleyball Bears grabbed a 25-15, 19-25, 25-22, 25-17 Missouri Valley Conference win at Evansville Friday.

The Bears improved to 18-7 overall and 11-2 in the MVC, while Evansville fell to 13-13 and 6-8 in the league.

Staubach's milestone kill came in a first set that the Bears dominated by hitting .471 as a team. The senior recorded career kills 1,000 and 1,001 as the final two points of the 25-15 win. Sophomore Kelley Michnowicz landed five kills on six attempts in the first set on the way to a career-high 20 in the match on .444 hitting.

The second set featured the Evansville offense on display with the Purple Aces hitting .370 while recording 18 kills against one error to tie the match at intermission.
    
Missouri State won a defensive struggle in the third, hitting .122 to UE's .096, and pulling away from a 17-17 tie to win. Then in the fourth, Michnowicz hammered six more kills and the Bears blocked five Evansville attacks for an easy win. The Bears used a 7-0 run to turn a 10-8 lead into a 17-8 advantage.   

Calli Norman had 11 kills and a team-high six blocks, while setter Melissa Gmur flirted with a triple-double, finishing the seven kills (on .778 hitting), eight digs and 46 assists. Cara Hackmann led the team with 22 digs, climbing to fourth place on MSU's single-season list, while Addie Foley and Abby Padlock added 15 each.
    
Missouri State had 60 kills and hit .222 in the match compared to 52 kills and .181 hitting for the home team. Each team had 85 digs and UE out-blocked the Bears 9-8.