The Missouri State volleyball team puts its 11-match winning streak and 9-0 home record on the line this weekend with matches against Wichita State (13-4, 5-1 Missouri Valley Conference) and South Dakota State (15-3). The Shockers sit a game behind the Bears in the league standings and renew a rivalry that produced five-game matches in all three meetings last season.

Live stats will be available at www.missouristatebears.com. Just click "Live Stats" on the left side of the home page and select the appropriate match. Live audio will be available on the web at http://thegrowl.missouristate.edu.

THE OPPONENTS Wichita State is 13-4 overall and 5-1 in the league, one game back of the Bears. The Shockers have played the same conference schedule as MSU, losing only to UNI at home. WSU owns a victory over then-No. 19 Santa Clara last month.

Sophomore transfer Emily Stockman leads the MVC with 4.22 kills per game, and the Shockers top the Valley in both offensive (.258) and defensive (.100) hitting percentage.

South Dakota State is in its first season as a member of The Summit League and brings a 15-3 record and 13-match win streak into Sunday’s match prior to stops at Xavier and IPFW on Wednesday and Friday. Mackenzie Angner and Kristina martin both average more than four kills per game, and the Jacks hit .271 as a team.

THE SERIES Missouri State holds a 39-12 all-time series edge over WSU. The series history has been one of streaks, as Missouri State took the first 15 meetings, the Shockers won one match, and the Bears reeled off another 11 wins in a row. The Shockers won five straight from 1997-98, the Bears took the next 10, and WSU won five straight in 2004 and 2005 before Missouri State won the 2005 MVC Tournament title match and two out of three in 2006.

Sunday marks the first meeting between the Bears and South Dakota State.

COACH MELISSA STOKES Missouri State head coach Melissa Stokes (San Diego State, 1991) is 261-116 (.692) in her 12th season at Missouri State. A native of El Cajon, Calif., Stokes has guided Missouri State to an overall record of 190-59 (.763) and 107-23 (.823) in the Missouri Valley Conference since 2000. In 2003, the Bears were the MVC regular-season champions and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1993. MSU made a return trip to the NCAAs in 2005 after winning the MVC Tournament, and advanced to the second round for the first time in program history in 2006, defeating Arkansas before falling to No. 13 Oklahoma in the second round.

Stokes came to Missouri State from the University of Idaho, where she helped the Vandals to four straight NCAA Tournament berths. As a setter at San Diego State, Stokes played four seasons and helped the Aztecs to two NCAA appearances. She recorded her 100th career victory in the Bears’ five-game win over Manhattan College, Sept. 1, 2001 and coached the 250th victory of her Missouri State career against Florida State, Aug. 31, 2007. Stokes ranked 37th among active Division I coaches in win percentage entering 2007.

LAST WEEK The Bears extended their winning streak to 11 matches with home wins over Oral Roberts, Southern Illinois and Evansville, dropping just one game in the process.

Missouri State hit .293 in the victory over ORU, getting 10 kills without an error from Sara Thomas, and nine kills, 45 assists and nine digs from Katelyn Panzau, who nearly finished with a triple-double in just three games.

On Friday against SIU, Jamie Adams had 16 kills and Sara Staubach 15 to lead the offensive charge.

Adams and Staubach were at it again on Saturday, totaling 19 and16 kills, respectively, against Evansville to set career highs for kills in a three-game match.

The last three MSU-WSU matches have gone to five games.

Missouri State plays South Dakota State for the first time on Sunday. The Bears have won seven straight matches when facing an opponent for the first time in school history dating to a 2003 loss to No. 1 Southern Cal.

If the Bears and SDSU make it Sunday’s match without another loss, the teams will put their respective 12 and 15-match winning streaks on the line.

The 2007 Bears have tied the 2000 team for the best 18-match start under Stokes. Only four teams in school history have started a season better than 16-2 through 18 contests, and none since 1981.

Missouri State received 46 votes in this week’s AVCA Top 25 poll, the 29th-highest total.

Missouri State has not lost back-to-back matches since Sept. 2-3 of the 2005 season, meaning the Bears have won their last 17 matches immediately following a loss.

MSU is 6-0 in league play for the first time since 2003.

The Bears are 4-1 in 2007 against teams that have received votes for at least one week in the AVCA Top 25 poll.

Missouri State ranks among the nation’s top 50 in the following categories through Sept. 30. There are 325 Division teams in the rankings:

11th in winning percentage (.889)

32nd in digs per game (18.22)

44th in blocks per game (2.79)

46th in kills per game (15.95)

50th in hitting percentage (.243)

Katelyn Panzau ranks 60th in the NCAA with 12.03 assists per game and Shayla Patrick is 117th in blocking with a 1.20 per game average through Sept. 30.

Stokes earned her 250th career victory when the Bears defeated Florida State on Aug. 31.

The Bears are 6-1 this year in matches lasting longer than three games.

Head coach Melissa Stokes is climbing up the all-time MVC coaching lists in a number of categories. Listed below is the 12th-year coach’s ranking in those categories. Lists are compiled based on statistics at Valley schools only:

Sixth in total victories with 261

Fourth in win percentage overall (.693) and second among active MVC coaches

Sixth in win percentage in MVC matches only (.725)

Third in MVC victories (148)

Sara Thomas, Jamie Adams and Sara Staubach have all posted matches with 20 or more kills this season.

Missouri State is 10-0 this season when Sara Staubach has 10 or more kills. Staubach is averaging 4.47 kills on .299 hitting in the last five matches.

Shayla Patrick leads all MVC freshmen with 1.20 blocks per game.

MSU is 14-0 this year and 38-1 the last two seasons when winning game two.

Katelyn Panzau is seventh in school history with 2,272 assists and now holds the record for assists by a two-year player.

Missouri State’s win over No. 25 Middle Tennessee on Sept. 9 was the first over a ranked team since 2003.

Jamie Adams has reached at least 10 kills in 21 of her last 25 matches.

Missouri State has hit over .200 in 14 of 18 matches this season and at least .171 in all but two.

Nikki Vandepopulier has reached the 10-dig mark 15 times in 16 matches this season and carries a streak of 13 matches in a row into this weekend.

The Bears are currently on an 11-match winning streak, the second-longest streak under Coach Stokes. MSU won 18-straight in 2003. The school record of 30 was set in 1975.

Sara Thomas has recorded at least one kill, dig, assist and block in all but one match this season. Katelyn Panzau has achieved that feat in 53 of her 54 career matches.

By winning MVC Player of the Week honor Sept. 10, Thomas became the first MSU player to win the award multiple times in the same season since Linette White in 2003.

Thomas has recorded at least six kills in each match, hitting .500 or better twice, .400 or better seven times, .300 or better 101 times, and .200 or better 13 times.

HOMECOMING Missouri State has been dominant at home since 2000, compiling a home record of 97-13 for an .882 winning percentage at Hammons Student Center. The Bears have completed seven consecutive years with three or fewer losses in a home season and are 9-0 in 2007.

1,000th WIN Missouri State became the second volleyball program in NCAA history to reach 1,000 victories with a sweep on Indiana State on Nov. 17, 2006. Now with 1,019 all-time victories, the Bears trail only UCLA (1,050) on the all-time wins list.

NATIONAL PRAISE Missouri State is the reigning College Volleyball Update Overall Defensive Team of the Year in 2006. The Bears ranked second nationally last season by holding opponents to a .119 attack efficiency and 27th with 3.11 blocks per game.

TOUGH COMPETITION The Bears have seven matches lined up this season against teams that began the year receiving votes in the AVCA coaches poll, and nine versus teams making at least one appearance so far.

MSU plays Illinois State, Northern Iowa and Wichita State two times each, and Middle Tennessee, Michigan State and Sacramento State also appear on the schedule.

The Bears are 4-1 against that competition this season.

PANZAU CHASING A RECORD Senior setter Katelyn Panzau is in just her second season on the floor for the Bears, but is in line to finish as one of the top setters in school history. She recorded 1,502 assists in 2006, and a repeat of that will put her in third place on MSU’s all-time list. She now occupies seventh place on the career list with 2,272.

Just a pair of two-year players appear in the career top 10 in addition to Panzau, with Jessica Brester (2,027) and Lani Kim (1,838) occupying the ninth and 10th spots, respectively.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Sara Thomas and Shayla Patrick brought home MVC awards in the first week of the season. Thomas was the league’s player of the week after averaging 3.79 kills, 4.07 digs, 1.07 blocks and hitting .357 on the way to becoming the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational MVP.

Patrick was the freshman of the week after leading MSU in hitting efficiency (.377) and blocking (1.29/game). She was named to the all-tournament team in her first collegiate action.

Thomas earned the award a second time on Sept. 10 after averaging 4.23 kills, 2.92 digs, 1.54 blocks and 1.46 assists per game in MSU’s 4-0 trip through Tennessee. She hit over .400 in three matches and .368 for the weekend, including a career-high 20 kills and a .405 attack efficiency in MSU’s 3-1 win at 25th-ranked Middle Tennessee.

MVC TOURNAMENT The State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament returns to Springfield for the first time since 2003 on Thanksgiving weekend. The top six teams in the regular season standings will come to Hammons Student Center November 23 and 24 to vie for the league’s automatic NCAA Tournament berth.

PRESEASON POLL Coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2005 and 2006, the Bears are picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2007 by the league’s coaches. UNI is the preseason choice to repeat as league champions, while Wichita State was picked second and Creighton a close third.

VOLLEYBALL LUNCHEONS Four dates remain for Missouri State volleyball luncheons this fall. Luncheons will be on alternate Wednesdays at Ebbets Field, 1027 East Walnut, and feature Bears’ head coach Melissa Stokes. Luncheons begin at noon and remaining dates are Oct. 10, Oct. 24, Nov. 7 and Nov. 21.