MARYVILLE, Missouri – The Northwest Missouri State Bearcat volleyball team dug itself a two-set hole, rallied to force a fifth only to see the No. 19-ranked Central Oklahoma Bronchos hold on for a 16-14 win in the decisive set.

UCO (18-4 overall, 6-2 MIAA) won by set scores of 25-17, 25-22, 21-25, 22-25, 16-14. Northwest falls to 14-5 overall and 6-2 in MIAA play.

The Bronchos jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening set and never trailed winning it, 25-17. Northwest committed nine errors and hit .116, while UCO had 15 kills and hit .406. Northwest’s Maddy Bruder carried the offensive load in the set with seven kills.

UCO cooled off in the second set, but Northwest was plagued by 10 attack errors. UCO hit .182, while Northwest hit .100. Hallie Sidney tallied five kills in the set to lead the Bearcats. UCO’s Taylor Bevis netted seven kills in the set.

Northwest finally found its groove in the third set. UCO had taken a 16-11 lead before the Bearcats came charging back. The Bearcats ran off five straight points to knot the set at 16-16. UCO came back to score the next two points before Northwest used a 5-1 run to take a 21-19 lead. Northwest hit .333 in the third with 17 kills and two errors, while UCO hit .231 with 18 kills and six errors. Sidney notched seven kills to lead the Bearcats in the third.

The Bearcats opened up a 14-9 lead in the fourth only to see the Bronchos knot it up at 19-19. The Bearcats failed to yield and knotted the match at 2-2 with a 25-22 victory. Bruder had six kills as the Bearcats hit .209.

UCO took a 10-7 advantage in the decisive fifth set. The Bronchos had two set points at 14-12 but back-to-back kills from Sidney evened the set at 14-14. UCO managed to score the final two points and took the match with a 16-14 triumph.

Northwest will be back in action at 3 p.m. Saturday in Bearcat Arena against Pittsburg State.

NOTES: Sidney collected her second straight 20-plus kill match with 24 kills … Sidney notched a double-double with 24 kills and 18 digs … Maddy Bruder was also credited with a double-double with 18 kills and 17 digs … Maddy Ahrens secured a double-double with 61 assists and 14 digs … Sofia Schleppenbach had 14 kills and a team-high seven blocks … Olivia Nowakowski earned a team-high 22 digs.

— Northwest Athletics —