After playing nine of its last 11 matches away from Hammons Student Center, the Missouri State volleyball team brings its eight-match winning streak and 13-2 record home this week for a five-match homestand, beginning with Oral Roberts at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Bears then return to league play Friday and Saturday with Southern Illinois and Evansville, with the UE game Saturday televised on Mediacom Channel 14.

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 Oral Roberts enters Tuesday’s contest at 7-6 this season. The Golden Eagles joined MSU in the NCAA Tournament last season in Fayetteville, Ark., and are led in 2007 by Jackie Oliveira, who averages 4.62 kills per game on .268 hitting.

Southern Illinois is 10-4 overall and 2-1 in league play with wins over Indiana State and Evansville. The Salukis are fourth in the MVC with a .223 team hitting percentage, and sophomore Marina Medic is averaging 2.92 kills on .375 hitting. The Salukis also average 2.74 blocks per game.

Evansville is 8-6 overall and 1-2 in the league after a 3-0 loss Friday at the hands of SIU. UE’s Julie Walroth is the reigning MVC Libero of the Year and once again tops the league’s defensive specialists with 6.09 digs per game in 2007.

THE SERIES Missouri State leads the all-time series with each of this week’s opponents by a considerable margin, including a 5-1 mark against the three in 2006.

The Bears will be playing Oral Roberts for the fifth year in a row and own a 23-9 series lead over the Golden Eagles.

MSU leads Southern Illinois 36-14 in the all-time series and has won the last five matches.

Missouri State has suffered just one loss in 27 all-time meetings with Evansville, the lone defeat coming in five games in 1999 at UE. The Bears have won 16 straight matches against the Aces, and have taken the first game in 14 straight meetings.

COACH MELISSA STOKES Missouri State head coach Melissa Stokes (San Diego State, 1991) is 258-116 (.690) in her 12th season at Missouri State. A native of El Cajon, Calif., Stokes has guided Missouri State to an overall record of 187-59 (.760) and 105-23 (.820) 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 Missouri State ran its winning streak to eight matches in a row with road victories over Indiana State and Illinois State. The Bears made quick work of the Sycamores on Friday, hitting .284 in the sweep and holding ISU to an .048 attack efficiency.

Saturday’s match in Normal, Ill., proved to be much more of a challenge, but the Bears prevailed 3-1 in a contest that included numerous long rallies. MSU finished with 113 digs in four games, while Sara Staubach had a career match with 21 kills on .391 hitting. Five players had 14 or more digs.

Missouri State received 36 votes in this week’s AVCA Top 25 poll, the 30th-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 4-0 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. 23:

35th in blocks per game (2.89)

40th in digs per game (17.94)

Katelyn Panzau ranks 84th in the NCAA with 11.63 assists per game and Shayla Patrick is 85th in blocking with a 1.26 per game average through Sept. 23.

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 258

Fourth in win percentage overall (.690) and second among active MVC coaches

Sixth in win percentage in MVC matches only (.723)

Third in MVC victories (146)

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

The Bears are 5-1 this year in matches lasting longer than three games.

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

Missouri State is 7-0 this season when Sara Staubach has 10 or more kills.

Shayla Patrick leads all MVC freshmen with 1.26 blocks per game.

MSU is 11-0 this year and 35-1 the last two seasons when winning game two.

Katelyn Panzau is seventh in school history with 2,130 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 18 of her last 22 matches.

Missouri State has hit over .200 in 11 of 15 matches this season and at least .171 in all but two.

Nikki Vandepopulier has reached the 10-dig mark 12 times in 13 matches this season and carries a streak of 10 matches in a row into this weekend.

The Bears are currently on an eight-match winning streak, their fifth different streak of eight or more consecutive wins since the beginning of the 2000 season. All but one of the previous four streaks reached 10 straight victories.

Sara Thomas has recorded at least one kill, dig, assist and block in every match this season. Katelyn Panzau has achieved that feat in 50 of her 51 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 six times, .300 or better 10 times, and .200 or better 12 times.

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 1,016 all-time victories, the Bears trail only UCLA (1,048) on the all-time wins list.

HOMECOMING Missouri State has been dominant at home since 2000, compiling a home record of 94-13 for an .879 winning percentage at Hammons Student Center. The Bears have completed seven consecutive years with three or fewer losses in a home season and are 6-0 in 2007.

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 2,130.

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 Five 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 Sept. 26, Oct. 10, Oct. 24, Nov. 7 and Nov. 21.