Volleyball Set For Weekend Trip to UNI, Bradley
November 11, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
The Missouri State volleyball team (20-9, 11-4 Missouri Valley Conference) hits the road for the next-to-last MVC weekend Friday with a trip to UNI (21-5, 11-3) and Bradley (5-22, 1-13). With a spot in the State Farm MVC Tournament now secured, the Bears will focus on seeding as they sit fourth with an 11-4 league record but are just one match behind UNI and Creighton in the loss column as both teams sit tied for second at 11-3. The Bears can still finish anywhere from second to fifth on the conference race.
THE OPPONENTS UNI is 21-5 overall and 11-3 in league play after defeating Bradley on Saturday. The Panthers lead the league with a 2.74 blocking average, and Ashten Stelken’s 1.55 average ranks among the nation’s elite. Shannon Aschoff and Amy Sampson are the team’s top two attackers, averaging 3.35 and 3.25 kills per set, respectively, while freshman Michelle Burow hits .310 and Ellie Blankenship leads the MVC with 5.55 digs per set.
As a team, the Panthers average 13.55 kills and 16.67 digs per set and hit .240.
Bradley is 5-22 overall and 1-13 in the MVC prior to a Tuesday match at DePaul. Amy Reichel is the team’s top hitter with 2.66 kills per set and is one of just two Braves averaging more than two kills. BU hits .149 as a team and averages 11.39 kills, 14.40 digs and 1.74 blocks per set.
The Bears defeated both UNI and Bradley by 3-1 scores earlier this season in Springfield.
THE SERIES The all-time series with UNI is 36-18 in favor of the Panthers, but the Bears have taken five of the last 10 meetings since losing 15-of-17 from 1998-2004.
Missouri State holds a 35-7 series edge with Bradley and has won the last 16 matchups with the Braves. The Bears have not lost to Bradley in Peoria since 2000.
COACH MELISSA STOKES Missouri State head coach Melissa Stokes (San Diego State, 1991) is 290-131 (.689) in her 13th season at Missouri State. A native of El Cajon, Calif., Stokes has guided Missouri State to an overall record of 216-73 (.747) and 127-31 (.804) 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, and made it three straight trips to the postseason in 2007.
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-set 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 2008.
LIVE STATS Live stats for most Missouri State volleyball matches will be available at www.missouristatebears.com. Go to the “Fan Central” link on the left side of the page and select “Live Stats.”
AUDIO COVERAGE There will be no local or internet radio broadcast of this week’s matches.
LAST WEEK Missouri State stumbled in a Tuesday match against Texas-Pan American but won a pair of league matches over the weekend. On Friday, MSU dispatched Evansville in four sets, getting a balanced offensive effort with five players reaching double figures in kills. Sara Staubach led the way with 18 kills on .410 hitting.
The Bears dropped the first two sets to Southern Illinois on Saturday but still came away with the win, again getting five players with double-digit kill totals, including 20 from freshman Calli Norman. Terri Del Conte came within two digs of a school record as well after scooping 36 SIU attacks.
QUICK HITS
Missouri State ranks 39th in the nation in both blocks (2.49) and digs (16.27) per set.The Bears also rank among the nation’s top 75 in kills per set (74th) and winning percentage (74th).
Head coach Melissa Stokes is climbing up the all-time MVC coaching lists in a number of categories. Listed below is the 13th-year coach’s ranking in those categories. Lists are compiled based on statistics at Valley schools only:
Fourth in total victories with 290
Fourth in win percentage overall (.689) and second among active MVC coaches
Sixth in win percentage in MVC matches only (.723)
Third in MVC victories (167)
Stokes is now five victories away from tying SIU’s Debbie Hunter (1975-88) for third all-time in wins at MVC schools.
Missouri State has played beyond three sets in 20 of 29 matches this season, and has a record of 8-1 in the three-setters.
The Bears have six players with at least three double-figure kill matches and five who have 10-plus kills on at least seven occasions.
Sara Staubach has had three or fewer attack errors in 15 of MSU’s 29 matches, has five matches with no attack errors and has topped the .300 mark in hitting efficiency on 12 occasions.
Kelley Michnowicz has made only 10 errors in her last eight matches, accumulating 78 kills on 175 swings in the process to hit .389.
Terri Del Conte went 165 consecutive serve reception chances without an error from Sept. 26 to Oct. 17. As a comparison, the league as a whole averages one error approximately every 17 chances for the season.
Del Conte has led Missouri State in digs in all but three matches this season and has reached double figures in 19 in row.
Del Conte’s 516 digs this season rank fourthth all-time for a season at MSU.
Del Conte has also taken over the career digs per set lead, averaging just .007 more than current record holder Adeana McAfee.
After recording no double-doubles in her first 71 career matches, Addie Foley did it on back-to-back nights with 10 kills and 11 digs versus SIUE (Oct.14) and 18 kills and 10 digs against Bradley (Oct. 17).
By losing to Evansville on Oct. 11, the Bears snapped a streak of 42 consecutive match victories against programs from the state of Indiana.
Cara Hackmann (18), Calli Norman (18) and Sara Staubach (17) all had at least 17 kills at Drake on Sept. 27, the first time MSU has had three players with at least 17 kills since Linette White (22), Erin Murphy (19) and Katie Werges (18) did it against Illinois State on Oct. 25, 2003.
MSU is 58-4 the last three seasons when winning set two.
The Bears went on a six-match winning streak Sept. 6-13, their 13th different streak of six or more consecutive wins since the beginning of the 1999 season.
Nikki Vandepopulier now ranks 14th on MSU’s career digs and has 1,103 digs as a Bear.
The Bears used six freshmen against Arkansas-Pine Bluff Sept. 13.
Cara Hackmann broke a long-standing school record by hitting .882 (15-0-17) against IPFW on Sept. 12, breaking Mindy Struckhoff’s 23-year-old mark of .867 that was set nearly three years before Hackmann was born and when Coach Stokes was a senior in high school.
The Bears put up the second best attack percentage in school history as a team in the IPFW match as well, hitting .456 (48-7-90).
THAT’S A LOT OF VOLLEYBALL Missouri State has made a habit of playing long matches this season. Here are some numbers that show just how much volleyball the Bears are playing.
20 matches that have lasted more than three sets (the most since 1989)
Eight five-set matches (the most since 1998)
115 sets matches MSU’s 2007 total. MSU played four more weekends last year.
No three set road matches since Sept. 21
13 of 15 MVC matches have lasted more than three sets
20 WINS AGAIN Missouri State has reached 20 wins for the 10th consecutive season. Entering 2008, only nine schools in the country had longer active streaks.
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. The Bears trail only UCLA (1,076) and Nebraska (1,052) on the all-time wins list.
HOMECOMING Missouri State has been dominant at home since 2000, compiling a home record of 112-19 for an .855 winning percentage at Hammons Student Center. The Bears have completed eight consecutive years with three or fewer losses in a home season and are 11-3 in 2008.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Cara Hackmann was MSU’s first MVC Player of the Week in 2008, earning the award Sept. 15. She averaged 3.82 kills on .500 hitting, 3.18 digs and 1.36 blocks per set over four matches and set the school record for hitting percentage in a match at .882 (15-0-17) against IPFW on Sept. 12.
The Bears added two more awards on Oct. 6. Addie Foley was honored as POW after averaging 3.50 kills on .304 hitting, 1.12 digs and 0.62 blocks in wins against Indiana State and Illinois State.
Terri Del Conte earned Defensive Player of the Week recognition the same week. The senior averaged 5.75 digs per set, including a career-high 27 versus the Sycamores, while posting a perfect service reception percentage in 47 tries.
Two more Bears were honored Oct. 20. Freshman Calli Norman won Player of the Week honors after hitting .441 with 2.91 kills and 1.18 blocks per set in three wins.
Fellow rookie Kelley Michnowicz was the league’s Freshman of the Week. She hit .417 (27-2-60) and averaged 2.45 kills, 1.00 digs and 0.73 blocks per set for the week.
Michnowicz repeated that honor Oct. 27 after averaging 2.88 kills on .417 hitting and 1.00 digs for the Bears against Drake and Creighton.
Norman added to her hardware collection Nov. 10 with a Freshman of the Week award. She averaged 3.15 kills and 1.31 blocks and hit .286 for the week.
RADIO BROADCASTS MSU volleyball broadcasts will air on several stations this season, including KBFL 99.9 FM and 1060 AM in Springfield, over the internet at www.radiospringfield.com and on The Growl at thegrowl.missouristate.edu.
A complete listing of this year’s radio broadcasts can be found on page 4.
VOLLEYBALL LUNCHEONS One date remains for Missouri State volleyball luncheons this fall. Luncheons will be on alternate Wednesdays at Springfield Brewing Company, 301 South Market, and feature Bears’ head coach Melissa Stokes. Luncheons begin at noon and remaining dates are Nov. 19.
RULE CHANGES FOR 2008 A few rule changes will be in effect this season, most notably that the term “game” will now be changed to “set”, and that sets will be played to 25 points rather than 30. Additionally, with the new shorter sets, the maximum number of substitutions allowed will now be 12 per set.
THE OPPONENTS UNI is 21-5 overall and 11-3 in league play after defeating Bradley on Saturday. The Panthers lead the league with a 2.74 blocking average, and Ashten Stelken’s 1.55 average ranks among the nation’s elite. Shannon Aschoff and Amy Sampson are the team’s top two attackers, averaging 3.35 and 3.25 kills per set, respectively, while freshman Michelle Burow hits .310 and Ellie Blankenship leads the MVC with 5.55 digs per set.
As a team, the Panthers average 13.55 kills and 16.67 digs per set and hit .240.
Bradley is 5-22 overall and 1-13 in the MVC prior to a Tuesday match at DePaul. Amy Reichel is the team’s top hitter with 2.66 kills per set and is one of just two Braves averaging more than two kills. BU hits .149 as a team and averages 11.39 kills, 14.40 digs and 1.74 blocks per set.
The Bears defeated both UNI and Bradley by 3-1 scores earlier this season in Springfield.
THE SERIES The all-time series with UNI is 36-18 in favor of the Panthers, but the Bears have taken five of the last 10 meetings since losing 15-of-17 from 1998-2004.
Missouri State holds a 35-7 series edge with Bradley and has won the last 16 matchups with the Braves. The Bears have not lost to Bradley in Peoria since 2000.
COACH MELISSA STOKES Missouri State head coach Melissa Stokes (San Diego State, 1991) is 290-131 (.689) in her 13th season at Missouri State. A native of El Cajon, Calif., Stokes has guided Missouri State to an overall record of 216-73 (.747) and 127-31 (.804) 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, and made it three straight trips to the postseason in 2007.
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-set 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 2008.
LIVE STATS Live stats for most Missouri State volleyball matches will be available at www.missouristatebears.com. Go to the “Fan Central” link on the left side of the page and select “Live Stats.”
AUDIO COVERAGE There will be no local or internet radio broadcast of this week’s matches.
LAST WEEK Missouri State stumbled in a Tuesday match against Texas-Pan American but won a pair of league matches over the weekend. On Friday, MSU dispatched Evansville in four sets, getting a balanced offensive effort with five players reaching double figures in kills. Sara Staubach led the way with 18 kills on .410 hitting.
The Bears dropped the first two sets to Southern Illinois on Saturday but still came away with the win, again getting five players with double-digit kill totals, including 20 from freshman Calli Norman. Terri Del Conte came within two digs of a school record as well after scooping 36 SIU attacks.
QUICK HITS
Missouri State ranks 39th in the nation in both blocks (2.49) and digs (16.27) per set.The Bears also rank among the nation’s top 75 in kills per set (74th) and winning percentage (74th).
Head coach Melissa Stokes is climbing up the all-time MVC coaching lists in a number of categories. Listed below is the 13th-year coach’s ranking in those categories. Lists are compiled based on statistics at Valley schools only:
Fourth in total victories with 290
Fourth in win percentage overall (.689) and second among active MVC coaches
Sixth in win percentage in MVC matches only (.723)
Third in MVC victories (167)
Stokes is now five victories away from tying SIU’s Debbie Hunter (1975-88) for third all-time in wins at MVC schools.
Missouri State has played beyond three sets in 20 of 29 matches this season, and has a record of 8-1 in the three-setters.
The Bears have six players with at least three double-figure kill matches and five who have 10-plus kills on at least seven occasions.
Sara Staubach has had three or fewer attack errors in 15 of MSU’s 29 matches, has five matches with no attack errors and has topped the .300 mark in hitting efficiency on 12 occasions.
Kelley Michnowicz has made only 10 errors in her last eight matches, accumulating 78 kills on 175 swings in the process to hit .389.
Terri Del Conte went 165 consecutive serve reception chances without an error from Sept. 26 to Oct. 17. As a comparison, the league as a whole averages one error approximately every 17 chances for the season.
Del Conte has led Missouri State in digs in all but three matches this season and has reached double figures in 19 in row.
Del Conte’s 516 digs this season rank fourthth all-time for a season at MSU.
Del Conte has also taken over the career digs per set lead, averaging just .007 more than current record holder Adeana McAfee.
After recording no double-doubles in her first 71 career matches, Addie Foley did it on back-to-back nights with 10 kills and 11 digs versus SIUE (Oct.14) and 18 kills and 10 digs against Bradley (Oct. 17).
By losing to Evansville on Oct. 11, the Bears snapped a streak of 42 consecutive match victories against programs from the state of Indiana.
Cara Hackmann (18), Calli Norman (18) and Sara Staubach (17) all had at least 17 kills at Drake on Sept. 27, the first time MSU has had three players with at least 17 kills since Linette White (22), Erin Murphy (19) and Katie Werges (18) did it against Illinois State on Oct. 25, 2003.
MSU is 58-4 the last three seasons when winning set two.
The Bears went on a six-match winning streak Sept. 6-13, their 13th different streak of six or more consecutive wins since the beginning of the 1999 season.
Nikki Vandepopulier now ranks 14th on MSU’s career digs and has 1,103 digs as a Bear.
The Bears used six freshmen against Arkansas-Pine Bluff Sept. 13.
Cara Hackmann broke a long-standing school record by hitting .882 (15-0-17) against IPFW on Sept. 12, breaking Mindy Struckhoff’s 23-year-old mark of .867 that was set nearly three years before Hackmann was born and when Coach Stokes was a senior in high school.
The Bears put up the second best attack percentage in school history as a team in the IPFW match as well, hitting .456 (48-7-90).
THAT’S A LOT OF VOLLEYBALL Missouri State has made a habit of playing long matches this season. Here are some numbers that show just how much volleyball the Bears are playing.
20 matches that have lasted more than three sets (the most since 1989)
Eight five-set matches (the most since 1998)
115 sets matches MSU’s 2007 total. MSU played four more weekends last year.
No three set road matches since Sept. 21
13 of 15 MVC matches have lasted more than three sets
20 WINS AGAIN Missouri State has reached 20 wins for the 10th consecutive season. Entering 2008, only nine schools in the country had longer active streaks.
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. The Bears trail only UCLA (1,076) and Nebraska (1,052) on the all-time wins list.
HOMECOMING Missouri State has been dominant at home since 2000, compiling a home record of 112-19 for an .855 winning percentage at Hammons Student Center. The Bears have completed eight consecutive years with three or fewer losses in a home season and are 11-3 in 2008.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Cara Hackmann was MSU’s first MVC Player of the Week in 2008, earning the award Sept. 15. She averaged 3.82 kills on .500 hitting, 3.18 digs and 1.36 blocks per set over four matches and set the school record for hitting percentage in a match at .882 (15-0-17) against IPFW on Sept. 12.
The Bears added two more awards on Oct. 6. Addie Foley was honored as POW after averaging 3.50 kills on .304 hitting, 1.12 digs and 0.62 blocks in wins against Indiana State and Illinois State.
Terri Del Conte earned Defensive Player of the Week recognition the same week. The senior averaged 5.75 digs per set, including a career-high 27 versus the Sycamores, while posting a perfect service reception percentage in 47 tries.
Two more Bears were honored Oct. 20. Freshman Calli Norman won Player of the Week honors after hitting .441 with 2.91 kills and 1.18 blocks per set in three wins.
Fellow rookie Kelley Michnowicz was the league’s Freshman of the Week. She hit .417 (27-2-60) and averaged 2.45 kills, 1.00 digs and 0.73 blocks per set for the week.
Michnowicz repeated that honor Oct. 27 after averaging 2.88 kills on .417 hitting and 1.00 digs for the Bears against Drake and Creighton.
Norman added to her hardware collection Nov. 10 with a Freshman of the Week award. She averaged 3.15 kills and 1.31 blocks and hit .286 for the week.
RADIO BROADCASTS MSU volleyball broadcasts will air on several stations this season, including KBFL 99.9 FM and 1060 AM in Springfield, over the internet at www.radiospringfield.com and on The Growl at thegrowl.missouristate.edu.
A complete listing of this year’s radio broadcasts can be found on page 4.
VOLLEYBALL LUNCHEONS One date remains for Missouri State volleyball luncheons this fall. Luncheons will be on alternate Wednesdays at Springfield Brewing Company, 301 South Market, and feature Bears’ head coach Melissa Stokes. Luncheons begin at noon and remaining dates are Nov. 19.
RULE CHANGES FOR 2008 A few rule changes will be in effect this season, most notably that the term “game” will now be changed to “set”, and that sets will be played to 25 points rather than 30. Additionally, with the new shorter sets, the maximum number of substitutions allowed will now be 12 per set.
Players Mentioned
Defensive Specialist / Libero
/ Women's Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Women's Volleyball
Middle Blocker / Outside Hitter
/ Women's Volleyball
Right Side Hitter
/ Women's Volleyball
Middle Hitter
/ Women's Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Women's Volleyball
Defensive Specialsit / Libero
/ Women's VolleyballBaseball Postgame vs. Arkansas (5/29/26)
Saturday, May 30
Lawrence Regional Preview Press Conference
Thursday, May 28
Baseball Postgame vs. Liberty (5/24/26)
Sunday, May 24
Baseball Postgame vs. DBU (5/22/26)
Saturday, May 23
